Industry overview

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order titled “Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People,” aimed at reducing mortgage costs as rising interest rates and inflation make homeownership less affordable. It directs federal agencies to proactively cancel mortgage insurance on eligible future loans and expand a program to make refinancing cheaper. Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte said in an X post on Thursday: “millions of Americans will save thousands and thousands of dollars.” But Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH, said the future consumer impact is difficult to know without more details.

The order comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, with rising costs and housing affordability a major concern among voters. It builds on previous orders to restrict Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes. The affordability squeeze is real: in 2025, the monthly payment for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on a median-priced home was roughly 33% of median family income, up from 26% in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances published in early October.

On mortgage insurance, conventional loans typically require private mortgage insurance, or PMI, when the down payment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. By contrast, Federal Housing Administration mortgages require mortgage insurance on all loans. Trump’s order directs the FHFA to create a pilot program that cancels eligible borrowers’ mortgage insurance “proactively” once their home equity reaches a certain threshold, according to the White House. This would apply to mortgages originated after the pilot program launches. Currently, conventional loan borrowers can generally remove PMI once their loan balance is below 80% of the purchase price, or once they have reached 20% equity, according to Fannie Mae, or it may be removed automatically when the balance reaches 78% of the original value. In a statement Thursday, Seth Appleton, president of U.S. Mortgage Insurers, an industry trade organization, said: “We commend the President’s focus on lowering costs for future homeowners, and the private mortgage insurance industry is proud to already be delivering on that goal.”

PMI typically costs 0.2% to 2% of the loan annually, and varies based on down payment size, credit score, amount borrowed and other factors, according to Fannie Mae. For example, if you purchased a $600,000 home with a 10% down payment and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.3%, your monthly mortgage insurance could be $351, according to a private mortgage calculator from Freddie Mac. “Most mortgages … are carrying PMI at this point in time, especially with the way home prices have been and down payments being as small as they’ve been in recent years,” Gumbinger said. During the second quarter of 2026, the median home down payment was 13.7% of the purchase price, or $27,100, according to a September report from Realtor.com.

On refinancing, the order also aims to reduce costs by making permanent the FHFA’s pilot program that waives the lender’s title insurance policy and allows “cost-friendly alternatives,” according to the White House. “I don’t know that it’s necessarily a game-changer in terms of cost of housing, which is dictated by home price and mortgage rates at the moment,” Gumbinger said. “But you know, every little bit certainly helps.” As of Oct. 23, mortgage interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages were 7.32%, according to Freddie Mac, and refinance demand was down 59% in mid-October compared with the same week the previous year. The FHFA pilot was originally planned through November 2027 and was “limited in scope,” for refinances with a loan-to-value ratio below 80% in a handful of states. Former FHFA director Sandra Thompson estimated consumers could save $500 to $1,500 in closing costs for loans sold under the pilot.

Industry overview based on CNBC

What it means for investors

For investors, the order is a watch item rather than a clear buy or sell signal, because the details that decide who gains and who loses have not been published. Mortgage insurers could see revenue fall if PMI is cancelled earlier on eligible future loans, while lenders and title companies could be affected if a lender’s title insurance policy is waived more widely in refinancing. Homebuilders and real estate companies could benefit if lower costs bring more buyers into the market, but the order does not change the two forces Gumbinger points to — home prices and mortgage rates, which stood at 7.32% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage as of Oct. 23. Investors should wait for the FHFA pilot’s equity threshold, timing and scope before judging the impact on any single company’s finances.

What it means for employees

This story has no direct employee angle: it does not report jobs, layoffs, salary changes or internships in the mortgage, title or real estate business. Indirectly, the work of loan officers, underwriters, title agents and real estate agents could shift if refinancing becomes cheaper and more borrowers refinance — refinance demand was down 59% in mid-October from a year earlier — while title insurance work could shrink if cost-friendly alternatives replace the lender’s title policy. The original gives no hiring or pay numbers for any of those roles, so that is a possible direction for the work, not a jobs forecast.

What it means for customers

For customers — homeowners and people hoping to buy a home — this is the most directly relevant of the five stories. Eligible future borrowers could save on mortgage insurance once their equity reaches the threshold the pilot sets, and refinancers could save $500 to $1,500 in closing costs if the title insurance waiver is made permanent. But two limits matter: the PMI pilot applies to mortgages originated after it launches, and the equity threshold and start date have not been spelled out, so existing borrowers should not assume their PMI will be cancelled automatically. Anyone with a loan should check with their loan servicer about the current rules — generally, PMI can be removed once the balance is below 80% of the purchase price, or automatically at 78% of the original value — and compare the full cost of a refinance, not just the closing costs, before deciding.

Note: Investment calculations and projections are for illustrative purposes only. Market conditions change frequently. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.