Real Estate

Trump Order Seeks Automatic Mortgage Insurance Cancellation Pilot and Permanent Refinance Title Waiver

An Oct. 22 executive order asks FHFA to weigh a Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pilot that cancels mortgage insurance once equity is met, and to make a refinance title waiver nationwide.

Oct 25, 2026 - 12:18

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President Donald Trump has signed an executive order directing federal housing agencies to pursue several measures aimed at lowering the cost of owning and refinancing a home, including a pilot program under which mortgage insurance would be canceled proactively once a borrower has built enough equity. The order, titled "Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People," was signed on Thursday, October 22, 2026, and its full text is now posted on the White House website.

The order states that it is the administration's policy to "reduce regulatory barriers to mortgage origination and costs impeding homeownership" and to promote competition across the housing and mortgage market. Most of its provisions are directed at the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates and acts as conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

A pilot for proactive mortgage insurance cancellation

Under Section 2, the FHFA director shall, if he determines it is in the best interests of the two government-sponsored enterprises or the agency and the American public, direct Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to set up a pilot program that periodically reviews the single-family loans they own, guarantee or securitize. The reviews would use automated valuation models and other available data to estimate a home's current market value and identify borrowers who appear to meet the equity and other requirements for canceling mortgage insurance.

Cancellation would occur when an enterprise determines that the borrower meets equity requirements based on the property's current value, that cancellation is consistent with financial safety and soundness and the enterprise's contractual obligations, and that all other statutory, contractual and regulatory conditions are met. Servicers would be required, where legally permitted and operationally feasible, to notify borrowers promptly and to reduce or eliminate unnecessary documentation requests and appraisal costs.

The pilot would apply only to mortgages made after the program is established, according to the text of the order. Existing loans are not covered by that provision.

Title insurance and refinancing costs

Section 4 directs the FHFA director, subject to the same best-interest and safety-and-soundness tests, to have the enterprises expand their title acceptance pilot into an ongoing nationwide program. Under that program, an enterprise could accept an automated title review or other FHFA-approved title-risk assessment in place of a lender's title insurance policy on eligible refinance transactions.

In expanding the program, the director is to consider extending eligibility to refinances with loan-to-value ratios above the current 80% limit where title risk remains low, removing geographic limits, certifying additional title-assessment providers, waiving appraisals and some documentation for limited cash-out refinances that lower a borrower's monthly payment, and reducing loan-level price adjustments and other enterprise fees on such loans. The order requires that cost savings be passed through to borrowers.

Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods wrote in an October 21 note, cited by HousingWire, that the effect on mortgage companies and the broader market is likely to be limited. They said the title pilot currently operates in only a few regions and applies only to eligible refinances, which account for around 7% of title premiums, though a broadening to the purchase market "could" pose some risk to title insurers.

Manufactured housing task force and direct loans

The order also creates a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, co-chaired by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the FHFA director, with the Secretaries of Agriculture, Commerce and Veterans Affairs as members. Within 180 days, the task force is to recommend ways to promote modern manufacturing methods for factory-built homes eligible for federal programs, including eliminating duplicative federal reviews and establishing reciprocal recognition of approvals and inspections across agencies.

Separately, the Agriculture and Veterans Affairs secretaries are directed to reduce, consistent with applicable law and available appropriations, the interest rates charged on single-family home loans made directly by their departments, according to the order and a White House fact sheet.

Industry reaction and market backdrop

The Community Home Lenders of America said the provisions on title insurance, manufactured housing and veterans' loan costs "have long been CHLA priorities," HousingWire reported. Brendan McKay, co-founder of the Broker Action Coalition, said proactive cancellation would return money to families each month and that streamlined refinances and title waivers could cut closing costs.

The order arrives as borrowing costs remain elevated. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 7.32% in the week to October 22, down from 7.40% a week earlier but up from 6.19% a year ago, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year rate averaged 6.68%. The Federal Reserve's next interest-rate decision is scheduled for Wednesday, October 28, according to the Federal Reserve's meeting calendar.