U.S. News: Orders Aim To Make Homes Affordable

 

 

“President Trump signed a set of executive orders that aim to make it easier for community banks to make mortgages and to boost new construction, part of a push by his administration to tackle the issue of home affordability ahead of the midterms.

 

Trump is "laser focused" on the housing market, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "We feel very optimistic that we can restore the American dream."

 

Pulte estimated that Friday's executive orders and expected changes to bank capital rules would lower mortgage rates by as much as half a percentage point. They are currently just above 6%.

 

One executive order directed bank regulators to ease rules that have "driven up mortgage costs, limited access for creditworthy borrowers, and weakened community bank participation in lending."

 

It directed regulators to move supervisory guidance away from "overly technical process-oriented" approaches, to reform capital and liquidity rules and to modernize appraisal regulations, as well as expand access to Federal Home Loan Bank advances tied to residential mortgage assets.

 

Pulte said he would work with the Federal Reserve's vice chair for supervision, Michelle Bowman, who wants to boost mortgage activity by banks that have taken significant steps back from that market since the 2008-09 financial crisis. Banks originated roughly a third of mortgages as of 2023 and serviced less than half of balances, sharp declines from two decades ago.

 

Another executive order signed Friday was designed to cut red tape around new-home construction.

 

The Senate and the House each recently passed their own legislation with numerous proposals to address housing affordability. Both bills aim to streamline affordable-housing production and expand mortgage access.

 

Earlier this year, Trump released another executive order that banned Wall Street investors from single-family home purchases and called on Congress to turn the ban into law. The Senate recently added legislation to its housing bill to codify the ban.

 

House members have voiced opposition to the Senate bill, especially provisions in the investor ban.” [1]

 

1. U.S. News: Orders Aim To Make Homes Affordable. Heeb, Gina.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 Mar 2026: A3.