An executive order aimed at lowering housing costs was signed on October 22. I’ve read the White House fact sheet a few times now. I'm a Texas-based Mortgage Broker, CPA, Marine Veteran, and fellow real estate investor. Here’s my take from the lending side, with the investor angle in mind.

Up front: nothing in this order is live yet. It tells agencies to build programs. It doesn’t give thresholds, dates or rate targets. So treat this as a look at what’s coming, not as a reason to change your plans today.

1. Title insurance waiver becomes permanent (the one investors should watch)

FHFA already had a pilot that let some borrowers use a lower-cost alternative to traditional title insurance. The order makes it a permanent program.

Why it matters: title is one of the bigger line items on a refi, and investors refinance more often than most people. If you run BRRRR, or you're holding rentals at today's rates and waiting for a refi window, lower closing costs mean you break even on the refi sooner.

2. Mortgage insurance cancelled based on current value

FHFA was directed to create a pilot that proactively cancels mortgage insurance once a borrower meets the equity requirement, based on the home’s current market value.

Some context: on conventional loans you can already ask to have PMI removed. Today that usually means you have to start the request, meet seasoning rules, and often pay for an appraisal. Automatic termination is based on the original value, not today's. The key word in the order is "proactively." If the servicer does the work, a lot of people paying PMI they no longer need could see it come off without lifting a finger.

For investors this mostly matters for house hacks: owner-occupied 2–4 units bought with low down payments. This covers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans, since FHFA oversees both. FHA mortgage insurance is HUD's area, and the fact sheet doesn't mention it.

3. Lower rates on USDA and VA direct loans

The Secretaries of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs were directed to cut rates on the single-family loans their departments make.

The important word is "make." As written, this covers loans the agencies fund themselves, such as USDA's Section 502 Direct program. It doesn't cover the guaranteed USDA and VA loans most lenders originate. If you're a veteran planning a VA house hack through a regular lender, I wouldn't expect this to change your rate unless the final guidance goes further.

4. A manufactured housing task force

HUD and FHFA will co-chair a new task force on factory-built homes, aimed at lowering costs and improving quality for homes eligible for federal programs.

This is the longest-term item on the list. But if you invest in mobile home parks or affordable housing, it’s worth watching, and financing is already moving in the right direction. In September, Freddie Mac started allowing conventional financing on manufactured homes that were moved from their original site. Before that, a relocated home was generally ineligible. The home still has to pass an engineer’s structural inspection, sit on a permanent foundation, and be titled as real property with the land. Fannie Mae hasn’t made the same change, so these loans go through Freddie. For anyone buying older manufactured homes on land, that opens up a group of properties that used to be cash or chattel-loan only.

One more thing: the January order on institutional buyers

The fact sheet also points back to the January 2026 order that restricted large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. That order targets big institutional buyers, not someone with a handful of doors. Still, it tells you where the policy focus is heading.

My bottom line

Most of this order is aimed at owner-occupants, but what helps them helps investors too. Lower costs to buy and own bring more buyers into the market. Cheaper transactions make it easier to buy, sell and refinance. Both of those support asset values, and that’s good news for anyone holding real estate.