President Trump signed two executive orders targeting the regulatory web that has strangled home construction and mortgage lending for years.
One order directs federal agencies to strip regulatory burdens from homebuilders, speed up federal permitting for new housing developments, and push state and local governments to adopt streamlined construction standards. The second order targets the mortgage market, directing agencies to ease rules that have hit community banks especially hard and to open up competition among lenders.
“It is the policy of my Administration to reduce regulatory barriers to building homes and to steward taxpayer dollars in a manner that promotes housing affordability,” one order states.
The White House framed the action as a direct attack on years of government-created bottlenecks. “Layers of unnecessary regulatory barriers, slow permitting processes, and onerous mandates at all levels of government have delayed construction, restricted development, and driven up the costs of new housing,” Trump’s order reads. “These constraints have made housing less affordable for many Americans.”
Home prices surged during and after the COVID pandemic as construction stalled and demand stayed high. Mortgage rates climbed as the Federal Reserve held interest rates elevated, further pushing would-be buyers out of the market. Housing costs have remained a persistent economic grievance heading into the 2026 midterms.
On Thursday, the Senate passed bipartisan legislation that would further ease housing regulations, with the bill clearing 89-10. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) who co-sponsored the measure with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called it “consequential legislation that makes it easier to become a homeowner.”
The bill would block corporations from purchasing single-family homes and streamline environmental reviews and inspections to accelerate homebuilding. It now heads to the House, where leadership has signaled concerns over certain provisions. The White House has not committed to a signing timeline; Trump said last week he would not sign legislation until the Senate first passed the SAVE America Act.
On mortgage credit, the Trump administration says cutting regulations will let more lenders compete, which should push rates down. The White House outlined a series of goals: reducing burdens on community banks, modernizing origination and closing standards, removing regulatory distortions in the mortgage market, and promoting competition “to drive down mortgage rates.”
