With the midterm elections less than two weeks away, the Trump administration has rolled out a series of reforms aimed at easing the country’s housing affordability crisis that could save people "thousands" of dollars and restoring what the president has called “the American Dream of homeownership.” Home prices are still rising after surging by over 30 percent since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and historically elevated mortgage rates, now back above the 7 percent mark, are exacerbating the long-term affordability struggles faced by homebuyers and homeowners in the country. As homeownership continues slipping out of millions of Americans’ reach, President Donald Trump, who is facing a plunging approval rating and growing voters’ unhappiness over rising inflation, is feeling the pressure of keeping his 2024 campaign promise to improve housing affordability. In a multi-part executive order signed on Thursday, Trump directed his administration to reduce the costs of buying, financing and refinancing a home, and make factory-built housing easier to produce.
Included in the orders are measures aimed at reducing refinance closing costs, piloting proactive mortgage-insurance cancellation, supporting manufactured housing, and lowering rates on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) direct loans. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) director Bill Pulte commented on the executive order on X, calling it “the greatest Housing Executive Order in History” and saying it could save “thousands and thousands” of dollars for millions of Americans.
On the same day, the Treasury Department issued proposed new regulations barring large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes, a measure Trump has long pushed for. The executive order, titled “Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People,” does mainly four things: In a statement commenting on the executive order, Turner said Trump “is committing to bring even more innovative and affordable housing solutions to market for the American people.” He added: “For decades, home building has been crippled by regulatory red tape, but the Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation can usher in the next generation of housing by modernizing standards and speeding up approvals across government.” Meanwhile, the Treasury has proposed a rule Thursday that would bar large institutional investors from buying single-family homes, absent specific exceptions, saying that the proposal aims to “make homeownership more affordable for hardworking Americans.” The proposal would implement one of the most controversial sections of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, the historic bipartisan housing package which became law without Trump’s signature earlier this year. Starting January 7, 2027, investors that control 350 or more single-family homes will not be allowed to buy more units, unless the purchase qualifies for an exception.
Homes bought before the law was enacted on July 11, 2026, do not have to be sold. "The Treasury’s proposed rule fills in the details of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act rather than changing its core,” Realtor.com senior economist Hannah Jones said in a statement shared with Newsweek. She said that “the new material is mostly in the exceptions," adding that "for build-to-rent, a home must be newly built, bought within 18 months of its certificate of occupancy, and first occupied by a renter." "The proposal sets no minimum rental period, but [the] Treasury is asking for comment on whether to add one so investors can’t build, rent briefly and quickly sell,” Jones said.
When it comes to renovate-to-rent, Jones explained that "the home must fail structural or core-system building-code elements at purchase, and the investor must fix all material deficiencies and spend at least 15 percent of the purchase price on improvements.” “The proposal also sets conditions for programs that help renters buy, including financial support toward a purchase and a right of first refusal," she said. "And it clarifies that the rule applies to entities ‘in the business of’ investing in single-family homes, so incidental holders are not covered.” Previous studies on housing affordability show that the measures pushed forward by Trump’s executive order could help American households save money, as the administration says. According to a study published in September by LendingTree, 59 percent of mortgage holders say they are “house poor,” with half saying their payments increased over the past two years.
The order’s mortgage-insurance cancellation pilot could help eligible homeowners bring down their monthly expenses, LendingTree told Newsweek. The order also pushes to lower refinance closing costs. Based on another LendingTree study that was published in May, which found that nearly one-third of recent homebuyers could potentially save more than $2,000 a year by refinancing, based on rates observed in April, the measure could help borrowers recoup their upfront expenses and realize savings sooner.
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