Housing Executive Order: What It Means for Your PMI, Refinance and USDA/VA Loan

On October 22, 2026, the White House signed Executive Order 14438, “Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People.” The headlines oversold it; the text is more careful. We read the whole thing so you don’t have to.

What the order actually says

Most of it uses “shall direct,” “shall consider” and “to the extent permitted by law.” An executive order tells federal agencies what to work on; it doesn’t rewrite your loan contract.

PMI cancellation already works like this

The Homeowners Protection Act covers mortgages on single-family principal residences closed on or after July 29, 1999. Per the CFPB:

• Ask at 80%. When the balance is scheduled to hit 80% of the home’s original value (or you get there early with extra payments), request cancellation in writing. You need a good payment history, no second mortgage, and evidence (often an appraisal) that the value hasn’t dropped.
• Automatic at 78%. Once the balance is scheduled to reach 78% of original value and you’re current, the servicer must end PMI without being asked.
• Midpoint rule. Halfway through the term (year 15 of a 30-year loan), PMI ends if you’re current, even above 78%.

“Original value” is the lower of your purchase price or the appraisal at purchase. That’s the gap the order is poking at: the law looks at the old value; the proposed pilot would look at today’s. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already allow current-value cancellation in some cases, but you must ask and usually pay for an appraisal.

What’s it worth? At roughly 0.5% a year on a $380,000 balance, PMI is $1,900 a year, about $158 a month. Try our mortgage calculator, and use the extra payment calculator to see how extra principal speeds up the trip to 80%.

FHA loans play by different rules

None of this touches FHA mortgage insurance (MIP). Under HUD Mortgagee Letter 2013-04, for case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013, annual MIP lasts 11 years if your starting LTV was 90% or below, and the life of the loan (up to 30 years) if it was above 90%. The usual exit is refinancing into a conventional loan at 20% equity; see conventional loan requirements.

Title insurance on a refinance

When you refinance, the new lender usually requires a new lender’s title policy, even though you bought one at purchase. FHFA’s Title Acceptance Pilot (Fannie Mae, 2024) lets participating lenders skip that on certain refis under 80% LTV in select areas when an automated review finds low title risk. FHFA estimated savings of $500 to $1,500 per refinance. The order tells FHFA to make this an ongoing nationwide program at both Enterprises and to consider going above 80% LTV, trimming appraisal and income re-verification on payment-lowering refis, and cutting loan-level price adjustments, with savings passed to borrowers.

Today you benefit only if your lender is in the pilot and your loan fits. Compare the title lines on page 2 of each Loan Estimate and check the break-even in our refinance calculator.

USDA and VA borrowers: read the fine print

Section 5 covers “single-family home loans made directly” by USDA and VA:

• USDA Section 502 Direct: loans USDA itself makes to low- and very-low-income rural buyers. USDA lists 6.25% effective November 1, 2026, with payment assistance that can lower the effective rate to 1%. USDA Guaranteed loans from a lender aren’t in this bucket. See our USDA loans guide.
• VA Native American Direct Loan: for eligible Native American Veterans on federal trust land; VA lists rates starting at 2.47%. Standard VA-guaranteed loans are not covered. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance anyway; the VA loan calculator shows the funding fee instead.

What you can do right now

• Conventional loan, 20%+ equity by today’s value? Ask your servicer about current-value cancellation; expect to pay for an appraisal.
• Near 80% of original value? Send a written request and keep a copy.
• FHA with 20% equity? Price a conventional refi against the MIP you’d save.
• Refinancing? Ask lenders if they’re in the title acceptance pilot.

What to watch next

• Thu Nov 5: Freddie Mac weekly mortgage rate survey.
• Fri Nov 6, 8:30am ET: BLS October jobs report.
• Tue Nov 10: October CPI.
• Late November: FHFA 2027 conforming loan limits.
• Dec 9: FOMC decision (see our October Fed recap).
• Around April 20, 2027: Manufactured housing task force recommendations due.

FAQ

Sources: White House, Executive Order 14438 and fact sheet; CFPB, removing PMI; HUD Mortgagee Letter 2013-04; FHFA Title Acceptance Pilot FAQs; USDA Rural Development; VA.gov. This article is general education, not financial advice. Keys & Coffee is not a lender.