Trump’s executive order targets mortgage insurance, refinance costs

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that aims to reduce mortgage costs as rising interest rates and inflation make homeownership less affordable.

The order, 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.

In an X post on Thursday, Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte said “millions of Americans will save thousands and thousands of dollars.”

But it’s difficult to know the future consumer impact without more details, according to Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH.

Trump’s executive 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, among other actions.

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 published in early October.

Whether you’re a current homeowner or future buyer, here are some of the key things to know about the new executive order.

Trump’s executive 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. Once your balance reaches 80% of the original value, 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.

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.”

Typically, the cost of PMI can be 0.2% to 2% of the loan…