Trump's Housing Order Targets Mortgage Fees as Fixed Rate Averages 7.32%

President Donald Trump’s Oct. 22 housing order targets mortgage fees and some direct-loan rates, as the U.S. 30-year fixed mortgage average registered 7.32% for the week ending Oct. 22.

The order calls for a conditional pilot to make private mortgage insurance easier to cancel. It would cover only mortgages made after the pilot is established, and cancellation would still depend on equity, payment history and other requirements. The order also seeks to expand alternatives to lender’s title insurance for qualifying refinances.

Those insurance and title provisions do not change the marketwide mortgage rate. Separately, the order directs the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Veterans Affairs, subject to law and available funding, to reduce rates on home loans they make directly.

The 30-year fixed average fell from 7.40% the previous week. It marked the first weekly decline since Aug. 20, after two readings at 7.40%, in the earlier weekly rate update. The average was 6.19% a year earlier.

In France, Moody’s kept the country’s sovereign credit rating at Aa3 and maintained a negative outlook on Oct. 23. A French 10-year government bond yield benchmark recorded 5.126% on Oct. 22 and 5.048% on Oct. 23. Fiscal consolidation concerns and political gridlock remain part of the country’s budget backdrop.

The U.S. Department of Energy designated helium its 20th critical material. Helium is used in semiconductor production, and the designation points to limited domestic refining capacity and lengthy permitting for new projects.

The next developments to watch are whether the housing pilot is established, how France’s budget proceeds and whether helium supply risks develop into wider shortages.