Housing leaders weigh in on Trump’s scaled-back EO

President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aimed at reduced housing costs, which could save some mortgage borrowers thousands of dollars, but the final text is narrower than an earlier draft that had circulated in recent weeks.Keefe, Bruyette & Woods (KBW) analysts said that the order was “more positive than some expectations, especially for mortgage insurers,” and that they see it as “fairly benign for both mortgage and title insurers.”The order directs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to create a pilot program that uses automated valuation models (AVMs) to estimate current market value and identify borrowers eligible for cancellation of mortgage insurance, after equity and other requirements are met.A draft order reviewed by HousingWire earlier this week would have applied the pilot to all mortgages purchased by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). Industry estimates suggested that approach could affect roughly 40% of borrowers with mark-to-market loan-to-value (LTV) ratios below 80% who might qualify for mortgage insurance (MI) cancellation. The version Trump signed limits the pilot to “mortgages made after the establishment of the pilot program,” sharply...