New housing order targets mortgage insurance and closing costs. None of it is in effect yet

The order directs the Federal Housing Finance Agency to set up a pilot that would cancel a borrower's mortgage insurance once they reach an equity threshold based on the home's current market value, rather than the original purchase price. It also makes permanent an FHFA pilot that lets some refinancing borrowers use an alternative to a traditional lender's title insurance policy, which can lower closing costs.

The Secretaries of Veterans Affairs and Agriculture are told to reduce interest rates on the single-family loans their departments make, and a new task force on manufactured housing will look at factory-built homes that qualify for federal programs. The White House fact sheet gives no rate targets, eligibility rules or start dates for any of these steps.

Separately, the Treasury Department released proposed rules on large institutional buyers of single-family homes, tied to a law set to take effect in early 2027. The proposal uses a 350-home threshold for corporate owners. These are proposals, not final rules.