Trump Order Targets Mortgage and Refinancing Costs

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing federal agencies to reduce several costs tied to buying and refinancing homes, including mortgage insurance and certain government-backed loan rates. The order also establishes a task force focused on manufactured housing, according to the White House. The Federal Housing Finance Agency is directed to launch a pilot that would cancel mortgage insurance for qualifying borrowers after they meet equity requirements based on current home values. The plan calls for automated valuation models to assess those values. The pilot is described as applying to new mortgages. The order also makes permanent an FHFA pilot that waives title insurance requirements for mortgage refinancings. Title insurance is among the costs associated with closing a refinance. The White House says the waiver is intended to lower refinancing costs. Separately, the secretaries of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs are directed to reduce interest rates on certain single-family home loans issued by their departments. The order creates a Task Force on Manufactured Housing Innovation, co-chaired by the Department of Housing and Urban Development...