President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at lowering mortgage and homeownership costs while expanding the supply of factory-built housing. The move places the American Dream of owning a home back at the center of the administration’s affordability agenda.

“The American Dream of homeownership is a vital pillar of our great country," the order reads. Housing affordability has also emerged as a concern among Americans and an issue in the midterm elections.

Freddie Mac reported that the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 7.32% on Thursday, compared with 3.15% in 2021. The average sale price of homes sold in the United States was roughly $475,000 that year, compared with $502,700 now.

RESTORING THE AMERICAN DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP.

President Donald J. Trump is lowering the costs of single-family homeownership & mortgages, & removing unnecessary red tape to make homeownership more affordable for all Americans. https://t.co/t951xw9sKh — The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 22, 2026

"It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to mortgage origination and costs impeding homeownership; embrace innovative risk and value assessment technologies that incorporate Super Intelligence to drive down mortgage and homeownership costs; and promote competition and innovation throughout the housing and mortgage market," Trump said.

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The order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to create a pilot program that proactively cancels mortgage insurance premiums for qualifying borrowers. Cancellation would occur after borrowers meet equity thresholds based on current market values, using automated valuation models.

The agency is also directed to expand its title insurance waiver pilot into a permanent nationwide program intended to reduce refinancing costs. Together, the provisions target expenses that can keep draining homeowners long after they receive the keys.

Private mortgage insurance is required on most conventional loans involving a down payment below 20%. The insurance generally costs roughly 0.3% to more than 1% of the loan amount annually, adding $100 to several hundred dollars to monthly payments depending on credit score and down payment.

The pilot seeks to eliminate that recurring expense automatically once homeowners have accumulated sufficient equity. Mortgage insurance costs can otherwise remain in place for years, even as a home’s market value rises.

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Trump’s order also establishes a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, jointly chaired by the HUD secretary and Federal Housing Finance Agency director. It will promote modern factory-built construction methods and seek lower production costs for homes eligible for federal programs while maintaining safety standards.

LOWERING COSTS AND EXPANDING ACCESS TO HOMEOWNERSHIP: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to lower the costs of single-family homeownership and mortgages and promote innovation throughout the housing market. •The Order directs the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to create a pilot program to cancel borrowers’ mortgage insurance premiums proactively once they have satisfied their equity requirements based on the current market value, which will eliminate a large monthly expense for qualifying Americans across the country. •The Order establishes the Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation to increase the quality of and lower the cost of building a home by facilitating the use of modern manufacturing methods in the production of factory-built housing eligible for federal housing programs. •The Order directs the FHFA Director to reduce homeowners’ refinancing costs by expanding the FHFA’s title insurance waiver pilot into a permanent program to allow more borrowers to utilize cost-friendly alternatives to title insurance and to reduce the closing costs of refinancing and monthly expenses associated with homeownership. •The Order directs the Secretary of Agriculture and Secretary of Veterans Affairs to reduce interest rates on single-family home loans made by their respective Departments. RESTORING THE AMERICAN DREAM OF HOMEOWNERSHIP: President Trump is removing unnecessary red tape and making homeownership more affordable for all Americans. •Homeownership is a vital pillar of our great Nation, and President Trump and his Administration are working tirelessly to cut burdensome costs and red tape to make the American dream of homeownership more affordable for all Americans. •Unnecessary regulations and outdated mortgage processes have made homeownership unaffordable and driven up closing costs.

— Pulte (@pulte) October 22, 2026

The Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries are also instructed to reduce rates on certain direct single-family loans. The housing initiative follows the July 2026 ROAD to Housing Act, which eliminated the longstanding permanent chassis requirement for manufactured homes covered by HUD rules.

HUD’s Oct. 7 Next Generation Manufactured Housing Action Plan outlined steps to update construction standards, energy efficiency rules, foundations, and installation requirements for chassis-free designs. New manufactured homes have averaged around $135,000 in recent Census data, a fraction of prices for homes built at their permanent location.

"Demand isn’t just outpacing supply," Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones said Thursday. "It is artificially suppressed because suitable, affordable homes aren’t available."

The White House initiative follows a January 2026 Trump order directing agencies to limit purchases of existing single-family homes by large institutional investors, with exceptions for build-to-rent projects. Proposed Treasury rules would generally block investors controlling 350 or more homes from making new acquisitions beginning in 2027.

Sources including Realtor.com indicate that the largest institutional buyers accounted for only about 1% of total single-family purchases during the past decade. Overall investor purchases, mostly by small and medium operators, represented 10% to 30% of transactions in recent periods, depending on the measurement used.

A March 2026 order targeted federal regulatory barriers, including reviews involving stormwater and wetlands permitting, energy mandates, and other rules the administration said increased construction costs. The April 2026 Economic Report of the President estimated a roughly 10 million unit shortage of single-family homes compared with construction rates before 2008.

That report attributed the affordability crisis to Biden-era policies that boosted demand through large-scale illegal immigration and institutional purchases while constraining supply through green building code mandates, equity plan rules, and local regulatory expenses. It estimated those local costs at more than $100,000 for each new home.

When someone tries to blame Trump for the current high costs of housing https://t.co/ZlALaoMtGx

— TaraBull (@TaraBull) July 19, 2026

An analysis from the National Association of Home Builders calculated total federal, state, and local regulatory costs at $131,734, or 26.4% of the average new single-family home price in early 2026. Building code changes alone added more than $40,000, according to the analysis.

The report also reviewed administration actions involving border security, institutional buyers, Opportunity Zones, federal mandates, and the mortgage market. It cited directions for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortgage-backed securities and urged faster permitting, aligned modular construction codes, and removal of barriers unrelated to safety.

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