President Donald Trump signed a multi-part executive order on Thursday, Oct. 22, meant to reduce the costs of buying, financing and refinancing a home. It also aims to make factory-built housing easier to produce 1. It is titled "Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People" 1.
The order directs agencies to cut refinance closing costs, pilot a program to cancel mortgage insurance proactively, and support manufactured housing. It also directs them to lower rates on direct loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) 1.
What a draft showed
Scotsman Guide, a mortgage-industry outlet, reported on Oct. 20 on a draft of the order. The draft would have Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac review borrowers who could have mortgage insurance canceled early. It would also have loan servicers notify borrowers when cancellation may be possible 2.
The draft would also expand a pilot that waives title insurance on refinances. It would cut or end certain fees on eligible refinances and waive appraisals and income re-checks for some cash-out refinances that lower the monthly payment 2. The draft was subject to change, so the signed text may differ 2.
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Scotsman Guide said it was unclear whether all the directives comply with existing mortgage laws and agency authority. Neither the White House nor the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) had responded to its requests for comment 2.
Mega investors made up only about 0.6 percent of all home purchases in the first half of 2026.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte said the order could save "thousands and thousands" of dollars for millions of Americans 1. The wire reports do not show how that figure was calculated.
Some earlier research points the same way, but it is not a measure of this order. A LendingTree study from May found nearly one-third of recent buyers could save more than $2,000 a year by refinancing, based on April rates 1. Mortgage rates are now back above 7 percent 1.
Treasury's investor rule
The same day, the Treasury Department proposed a rule to bar large institutional investors from buying single-family homes, with some exceptions 1. It implements part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, a bipartisan law that took effect without Trump's signature on July 11, 2026 1.
Starting Jan. 7, 2027, investors controlling 350 or more single-family homes could not buy more, unless a purchase qualifies for an exception. Homes bought before the law took effect would not have to be sold 1.
Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones said the rule is unlikely to move prices much nationally. Large investors were about 0.6 percent of home purchases in the first half of 2026, and their buying was already down 31.8 percent from a year earlier 1. She said the effect could be bigger in local markets where such investors are concentrated 1.
What happens next
The Treasury proposal is open for public comment through roughly late November, so details could change 1. Whether the agencies can carry out each step of the order, and how fast, is not yet clear from these reports.
That matters because home prices are up more than 30 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic 1. The order arrives less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 election. The reports reviewed include no Democratic response yet.
The Record
- The bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law without Trump's signature 1.
- Scotsman Guide reported on a draft order to cut mortgage and refinance costs 2.
- Trump signed the housing order, and Treasury proposed its large-investor rule 1.
- Investors with 350 or more single-family homes would be barred from buying more, absent exceptions 1.
Sources
- Newsweek, “Trump Unveils Two Major Housing Moves That Could Save Americans 'Thousands'” (2026-10-23). newsweek.com/trump-unveils-two-major-housing-moves-that-coul
- Scotsman Guide, “Trump draft order takes aim at mortgage costs ahead of midterms” (2026-10-20). scotsmanguide.com/?p=128175
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