The new housing executive order: what it changes for homebuyers, and what it doesn't

On October 22, President Trump signed an executive order called "Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People." Headlines say it lowers the cost of buying a home. The actual text is narrower than that, and more useful to understand.

Here's what it does, what it doesn't do, what people across the industry are saying, and what it means if you're buying in the Richmond area. Short version: it makes some real changes around the edges of mortgage costs, mostly for people refinancing and for future borrowers. It doesn't change what you'll pay for a home you buy this fall.

What the order does#

It has four parts.

Part	What the order says	Who it could help	Timing
Mortgage insurance	The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is to set up a pilot program at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, if he decides it's in the public interest. The pilot would use automated home values to spot borrowers whose equity now qualifies them to drop mortgage insurance, and cancel it without the borrower having to ask.	Conventional borrowers whose loans are made after the pilot starts	No date. The pilot has to be created first.
Cheaper refinancing	FHFA's title insurance waiver pilot becomes a permanent, nationwide program. FHFA is also to consider allowing it on loans with less equity, skipping appraisals and income checks on certain refinances that lower the payment, and cutting Fannie and Freddie's risk-based fees on those refinances. Any savings must be passed on to borrowers.	Homeowners refinancing a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan	No date. FHFA sets the details.
Manufactured housing	A new task force, led by the HUD Secretary and the FHFA Director, recommends ways to make factory-built homes cheaper to build and approve. That includes standard permitting, recognizing each other's certifications, and possibly tying federal grants to localities that adopt standard permitting.	Over time, buyers of factory-built homes	Recommendations due within 180 days, around April 2027
USDA and VA direct loans	The Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs are to lower the interest rates on home loans they make directly, within the law and their funding.	Lower-income buyers in eligible rural areas using USDA's direct loan program, and Native American veterans using VA's direct loan program	No date

What it doesn't do#

• It doesn't lower mortgage rates in general. Rates come from the bond market and lenders, and the order doesn't address them. Freddie Mac's weekly average for a 30-year term was 7.32% on October 22.
• It doesn't lower home prices or add homes to the market now. The manufactured housing piece is a set of recommendations due next spring.
• It doesn't help people already paying PMI. The automatic cancellation pilot only covers loans made after it starts.
• It doesn't touch FHA mortgage insurance. The pilot is for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHA is a separate program run by HUD.
• It doesn't cover the regular VA and USDA loans. Most VA and USDA loans are made by private lenders and backed by the departments. Only the much smaller programs the departments lend through directly are covered.
• It doesn't take effect on its own. An executive order tells agencies what to do. It says itself that everything is subject to existing law and funding, and the details, and any savings, depend on how FHFA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and lenders carry it out.

What people are saying#

Reaction split roughly three ways.

Supporters focused on the savings. FHFA Director Bill Pulte called it "the greatest Housing Executive Order in History" on social media and said "millions of Americans will save thousands and thousands of dollars." The Mortgage Bankers Association said its lender members "welcome these latest initiatives to reduce the costs of refinancing." The mortgage insurance industry's trade group was on board too. "Private MI is designed to be temporary," said Seth Appleton, president of U.S. Mortgage Insurers. The National Association of Home Builders said the order "will help reduce single-family housing and mortgage costs," and the National Association of REALTORS® applauded the effort and said it looks forward to reviewing the proposals in more detail.

The title insurance industry supported the goal but urged caution about dropping title insurance on more refinances. "Fraud is unaffordable, and the threats facing homeowners are growing," said Chris Morton, CEO of the American Land Title Association, pointing to a rise in seller impersonation scams.

Many mortgage professionals and analysts were skeptical that buyers will feel much soon:

• "I don't know that it's necessarily a game-changer in terms of the cost of housing, which is dictated by home price and mortgage rates at the moment," Keith Gumbinger of the mortgage site HSH told CNBC. "But you know, every little bit certainly helps."
• "Most of this is a long play," said Jason Madiedo, CEO of a lender that works mostly with first-time buyers. "People will see the benefit of the mortgage insurance piece years from now."
• "Reducing the cost of getting a mortgage isn't the same as reducing the cost of owning a home," said Jon Brooks of Momentum Realty.
• Analysts at the investment bank KBW expect the impact on the mortgage market "is likely to be limited."
• The American Action Forum, a center-right policy group, wrote that the order "primarily addresses financing frictions rather than the underlying supply constraints on new housing," and warned that automated home values "can overstate property values."

Some coverage also noted the timing, less than two weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, and that Congress already took up manufactured housing permitting in the housing bill it passed in July.

What it means if you're buying in the Richmond area#

If you're under contract or shopping now, nothing changes. Your rate, your mortgage insurance and your closing costs work exactly as they did before October 22.

If your down payment on a conventional loan is under 20% of the price, you'll likely pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). You already have ways to get rid of it:

• It drops off automatically once your balance reaches 78% of the home's original value on your normal payment schedule.
• You can ask your servicer to remove it once you reach 80% of the original value.
• If your home has gone up in value, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans can allow removal based on today's value, usually with a new appraisal: at 75% of the current value after two years, or 80% after five.

Put a reminder on your calendar to check every year. The new pilot may eventually do this automatically for newer loans, but don't wait for it.

If you're using FHA, nothing changes. FHA mortgage insurance usually lasts the life of the loan when your down payment is under 10%, and refinancing into a conventional loan once you have enough equity is still the usual way out.

If you're a veteran using a regular VA loan, nothing changes. If you're looking at USDA financing for a home in an outlying part of the region, the rate cut only applies to USDA's direct program, which is for lower-income buyers who apply through USDA Rural Development. You can check any address on USDA's eligibility map.

If you're hoping to refinance later, this is the part to watch. If rates come down, refinancing a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan could get cheaper: possibly no lender's title policy, fewer fees, and less paperwork on refinances that lower your payment. FHFA estimated the current title pilot saves borrowers $500 to $1,500 at closing. Just don't buy a payment you can't afford today on the hope of a cheaper refinance later.

What it might mean for the market#

In the short term, very little. With rates above 7%, few people are refinancing, and the refinance changes only pay off when a refinance makes sense to begin with. The mortgage insurance pilot doesn't exist yet. Home prices and rates, the two biggest drivers of what you pay, aren't touched.

If rates fall, cheaper refinancing could let homeowners act sooner and save more when they do. And over the coming years, borrowers with newer loans could shed mortgage insurance faster as their homes gain value, freeing up monthly cash.

Over the long run, the manufactured housing work could add lower-cost homes, if permitting standards actually change. That depends on the task force's report, on Congress, and on states and localities, which control most zoning and permitting.

What to watch: FHFA's announcement of the mortgage insurance pilot and its rules, the terms of the expanded title program, the task force's recommendations next spring, and new USDA and VA direct loan rates.

The bottom line#

The order makes some real changes at the edges of mortgage costs. Most of the savings go to people refinancing and to future borrowers, and all of it depends on how the agencies carry it out. For a home you buy this fall, affordability still comes down to the price, your rate, and a budget that works for you.

If you're working out what you can comfortably afford, or whether PMI or a bigger down payment makes more sense, join a free online Homebuyer Basics class below. You're free to use any agent and any lender you like.

This article explains a federal executive order as written on October 22, 2026, and early reaction to it. Agencies haven't issued the rules that put it into effect, and details may change. Quotes come from the sources listed below.