Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People

Issuing agencies

Full Text

<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 207 (Wednesday, October 28, 2026)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 68007-68009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22051]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 91 , No. 207 / Wednesday, October 28, 2026 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 68007]]


                Executive Order 14438 of October 22, 2026

                
Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People

                By the authority vested in me as President by the 
                Constitution and the laws of the United States of 
                America, it is hereby ordered:

                Section 1. Purpose. The American Dream of homeownership 
                is a vital pillar of our great country. 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.

                Sec. 2. Proactive Cancellation of Excessive Mortgage 
                Insurance. (a) The Director of the Federal Housing 
                Finance Agency (Director) shall, if he determines that 
                it is in the best interests of the Federal National 
                Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage 
                Corporation (Enterprises) or the Federal Housing 
                Finance Agency (FHFA), and the American public, direct 
                the Enterprises to establish a pilot program, 
                applicable only to mortgages made after the 
                establishment of the pilot program, that periodically 
                reviews single-family mortgage loans they own, 
                guarantee, or securitize, using automated valuation 
                models and other available data to assess current 
                market value, and to identify borrowers who appear to 
                satisfy equity and other requirements for cancellation 
                of mortgage insurance.

                    (b) The Director shall direct the Enterprises to 
                establish procedures for the pilot program, including 
                financial safety and soundness standards and payment-
                history requirements, under which mortgage insurance is 
                canceled proactively when an Enterprise determines 
                that:

(i) the borrower satisfies applicable equity requirements based on the 
property's current market value, as determined through an automated 
valuation model or other means approved by the Director;

(ii) cancellation is consistent with financial safety and soundness and 
with the Enterprise's contractual obligations; and

(iii) the borrower satisfies all other applicable statutory, contractual, 
regulatory, and Enterprise requirements for cancellation.

                    (c) The Director shall direct the Enterprises to 
                require servicers, to the extent permitted by law and 
                operationally feasible, to notify borrowers promptly 
                when mortgage insurance may be canceled under the pilot 
                program, and to reduce or eliminate unnecessary 
                documentation requests, appraisal costs, and other 
                administrative barriers to cancellation.

                Sec. 3. Standardizing the Permitting of Homes. (a) To 
                increase the quality and lower the cost of building a 
                home, there is hereby established the Task Force on 
                Manufactured Housing Innovation (Task Force), which 
                shall be co-chaired by the Secretary of Housing and 
                Urban Development and the Director of the Federal 
                Housing Finance Agency, or their designees, and shall 
                include the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of 
                Commerce, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, or 
                their designees. The co-chairs may invite the heads of 
                other executive departments and agencies (agencies) to 
                participate, as appropriate.

                    (b) Within 180 days of the date of this order, the 
                Task Force shall submit to the President, through the 
                Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, 
                recommendations to facilitate the use of modern 
                manufacturing methods in the production of manufactured 
                and other factory-built housing eligible for Federal 
                housing programs, including actions to:

[[Page 68008]]

(i) promote specifications, certifications, inspections, and approvals 
across Federal housing and housing-finance programs;

(ii) establish reciprocal recognition among agencies of licenses, 
certifications, approvals, and inspections, where doing so would avoid 
unnecessary duplication;

(iii) eliminate Federal requirements and duplicative reviews that 
unnecessarily impede automation, modularization, standardized production, 
or other advanced manufacturing techniques, or that increase the time or 
cost of bringing homes to market;

(iv) use Federal financing, insurance, guarantee, purchasing, and other 
program authorities to encourage innovation and increased production of 
affordable manufactured and factory-built homes; and

(v) promote competition among manufacturers and other market participants 
while maintaining appropriate standards for safety, quality, durability, 
and consumer protection.

                    (c) The Task Force shall also evaluate whether, and 
                under what existing statutory authorities, Federal 
                grant funding may be conditioned on, or be used to 
                incentivize, State and local adoption of standardized 
                permitting and licensing for manufactured and other 
                factory-built housing, consistent with the best 
                practices issued under section 4(a) of Executive Order 
                14394 of March 13, 2026 (Removing Regulatory Barriers 
                to Affordable Home Construction), and shall prepare 
                legislative recommendations to codify the policies set 
                forth in this subsection.
                    (d) The heads of the agencies represented on the 
                Task Force shall, within their respective authorities, 
                take appropriate action to implement the Task Force's 
                recommendations.

                Sec. 4. Reducing Excessive Title Insurance, Especially 
                in the Refinancing of Americans Homes. (a) The Director 
                shall, if he determines that it is in the best 
                interests of the Enterprises or the FHFA, and the 
                American public, and consistent with financial safety 
                and soundness, the Director's authorities as regulator 
                and conservator, and applicable law, direct the 
                Enterprises to expand the title acceptance pilot into 
                an ongoing program, available nationwide through both 
                Enterprises, under which an Enterprise may accept an 
                automated title review or other title-risk assessment 
                approved by the FHFA in lieu of a lender's title 
                insurance policy on eligible refinance transactions.

                    (b) In expanding the program, the Director shall 
                consider:

(i) extending eligibility to refinance transactions with loan-to-value 
ratios above the current 80 percent limit where title risk remains low;

(ii) removing geographic limitations and certifying additional title-
assessment providers to promote competition;

(iii) waiving appraisals, income re-verification, and other documentation 
requirements for limited cash-out refinances that reduce the borrower's 
monthly payment, where the Enterprise's existing data support doing so; and

(iv) reducing or eliminating loan-level price adjustments and other 
Enterprise fees on such refinances.

                    (c) The Director shall require that cost savings 
                resulting from the program be passed through to 
                borrowers and that lenders inform borrowers of those 
                savings.

                Sec. 5. Department of Agriculture and Department of 
                Veterans Affairs Direct Loan Rates. The Secretary of 
                Agriculture and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
                shall, consistent with applicable law, including 42 
                U.S.C. 1490a(a)(1)(B) and 38 U.S.C. 3762(c)(1), and 
                available appropriations, reduce the interest rates 
                charged on single-family home loans made directly by 
                their respective departments.

                Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order 
                shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

[[Page 68009]]

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

                    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with 
                applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not, 
                create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, 
                enforceable at law or in equity by any party against 
                the United States, its departments, agencies, or 
                entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any 
                other person.
                    (d) The costs for publication of this order shall 
                be borne by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    October 22, 2026.

[FR Doc. 2026-22051
Filed 10-27-26; 11:15 am]
Billing code 8070-01-P


</pre></body>
</html>