If you’ve ever bought or refinanced a home, you know the feeling: the house is the easy part, and then come the fees. President Trump went after those fees on Thursday.
The President signed an executive order titled “Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People.” It takes aim at three costs that pile onto homeowners’ bills: mortgage insurance that hangs on too long, title insurance on refinances, and red tape that keeps factory-built homes from filling the gap in affordable housing. It also orders lower rates on home loans made directly by two federal agencies.
“The American Dream of homeownership is a vital pillar of our great country,” the order says.
What the order does
- Mortgage insurance: The Federal Housing Finance Agency can direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to launch a pilot that cancels mortgage insurance proactively once a borrower has enough equity based on the home’s current value. It covers mortgages made after the pilot starts, and servicers would have to notify borrowers promptly and cut unneeded paperwork and appraisal costs.
- Title insurance: FHFA’s pilot letting some refinancers skip a lender’s title policy could become a permanent, nationwide program. The order says “cost savings resulting from the program be passed through to borrowers.”
- Manufactured homes: A new Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, co-chaired by HUD Secretary Scott Turner and FHFA Director Bill Pulte, has 180 days to recommend ways to streamline standards and permitting for factory-built homes.
- USDA and VA loans: The Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries must lower interest rates on single-family home loans their departments make directly.
Builders and lenders weigh in
Pulte called it “the greatest Housing Executive Order in History.” Turner said “President Trump is a builder” and that the task force will “slash red tape.”
Industry groups welcomed it. Brendan McKay of the Broker Action Coalition called it “a big deal,” saying expanded title waivers could “slash closing costs by thousands of dollars.” The National Association of Realtors said the order “helps address the costs associated with homeownership,” and the Mortgage Bankers Association said it would work with agencies on implementation.
The order builds on earlier moves this year, including a January order to stop large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes families could otherwise buy, and a directive for Fannie and Freddie to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities to push down borrowing costs.
The other side
Not everyone expects a big splash. Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods predicted limited impact on mortgage companies, noting refinances make up only about 7% of title premiums. Most provisions also depend on follow-up action by FHFA and other agencies.
The bottom line
Washington spent decades making homes more expensive one rule at a time. Mandatory insurance that outlives its purpose. Title fees nobody can explain. Permitting mazes that treat a well-built factory home like a threat. Every one of those costs lands on a family’s monthly payment.
This order goes after the paperwork instead of throwing more subsidies at the problem, and that’s the right instinct. Government doesn’t make homes affordable by spending more. It does it by getting out of the way.
Cut the fees, cut the red tape, and let Americans keep the equity they’ve earned.