{"id":48278,"date":"2026-10-23T19:58:41","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=48278"},"modified":"2026-10-23T19:58:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T19:58:41","slug":"trumps-executive-order-targets-mortgage-insurance-refinance-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=48278","title":{"rendered":"Trump’s executive order targets mortgage insurance, refinance costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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US President Donald Trump shows the crowd an executive order he just signed during a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center in Grand Island, Nebraska, on October 5, 2026. <\/p>\n

Kent Nishimura | Afp | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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President Donald Trump<\/a> has signed an executive order<\/a> that aims to reduce mortgage costs<\/a> as rising interest rates<\/a> and inflation make homeownership less affordable<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The order<\/a>, titled “Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People,” directs federal agencies to proactively cancel mortgage insurance on eligible future loans and expand a program to make refinancing cheaper, among other actions.<\/p>\n

In an X post on Thursday<\/a>, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte said “millions of Americans will save thousands and thousands of dollars.” <\/p>\n

But it’s difficult to know the future consumer impact without more details, according to Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Read more CNBC personal finance coverage<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Trump’s executive order comes less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections<\/a>, with rising costs and housing affordability<\/a> a major concern among voters. It builds on previous orders to restrict Wall Street firms<\/a> from buying single-family homes, among other actions. <\/p>\n

Homeownership has become less affordable in recent years. In 2025, the monthly payment for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on a median-priced home was roughly 33% of the median family’s income, up from 26% in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances<\/a> published in early October.<\/p>\n

Whether you’re a current homeowner or future buyer, here are some of the key things to know about the new executive order.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mortgage insurance changes <\/h2>\n
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Conventional loans \u2014 mortgages not insured or backed by U.S. government programs \u2014 typically require private mortgage insurance, or PMI, when a down payment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. By contrast, Federal Housing Administration mortgages require mortgage insurance on all loans. <\/p>\n

Trump’s executive order directs the FHFA to create a pilot program that cancels eligible borrowers’ mortgage insurance “proactively”<\/a> once their home equity reaches a certain threshold, according to the White House. This would apply to mortgages originated after the pilot program launches. <\/p>\n

Currently, conventional loan borrowers can generally remove PMI<\/a> once their loan balance is below 80% of the purchase price or once they have reached 20% equity, according to Fannie Mae. Once your balance is below 80%, you can ask your loan servicer if you’re eligible to remove PMI, or they may remove it automatically when your balance reaches 78% of the original value.<\/p>\n

In a statement Thursday<\/a>, 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.”<\/p>\n

Typically, the cost of PMI can be 0.2% to 2% of the loan annually<\/a>, but varies based on your down payment size, credit score, amount borrowed and other factors, according to Fannie Mae. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> from Freddie Mac. <\/p>\n

“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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

During the second quarter of 2026, the median home down payment was 13.7% of the home’s purchase price, or $27,100, according to a September report<\/a> from Realtor.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mortgage refinancing costs <\/h2>\n
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Trump’s executive order also aims to reduce mortgage refinancing<\/a> costs by making permanent the FHFA’s pilot program<\/a> that waives the lender’s title insurance policy and allows “cost-friendly alternatives,” according to the White House.<\/p>\n

“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,” Gumbinger said. “But you know, every little bit certainly helps.”<\/p>\n

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%<\/a> in mid-October, compared to the same week the previous year. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Originally planned<\/a> through November 2027, the FHFA pilot was “limited in scope,”<\/a> for refinances with a loan-to-value ratio below 80%, in a handful of states, former FHFA director Sandra Thompson said during a Congressional hearing in April 2024. <\/p>\n

Thompson estimated that consumers could save $500 to $1,500<\/a> in closing costs for loans sold under the pilot program.<\/p>\n

Making the program permanent could save borrowers because the lender’s title insurance policy, which is usually required for new loans and refinances, “has always been fairly pricey,” Gumbinger said.<\/p>\n

The lender’s title and title insurance-related fees generally make up the largest share of\u00a0mortgage closing costs<\/a>, according to a 2025 Urban Institute report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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