Mortgage rates slid below 6 percent after new moves by the Trump team to push down borrowing costs, with agency officials and markets reacting to steps aimed at making homeownership more affordable.
President Trump is preparing executive action to limit big investment firms from buying single-family homes, arguing these purchases inflate prices and lock everyday Americans out of ownership. The move has become a central talking point from the administration as it targets private equity and institutional buyers that have reshaped parts of the housing market. That proposal is part of a broader push to restore affordability and ease the path to owning a home for working families.
FHFA Director Bill Pulte confirmed the plan in a TV interview earlier today and signaled momentum behind the effort. “We’re very confident that this will get done,” PUlte said. “You’ll see executive action from [Trump], and then he’ll codify it with Congress. I think this is going to be a big win for the American people.”
Markets moved fast once the administration signaled it would act, with housing-related stocks jumping and mortgage rates reacting the same day. The average 30-year fixed rate dipped under six percent, a notable break after a long stretch of higher borrowing costs. “Pretty crazy, actually,” the reporter says. “Got below six percent for the first time…in almost three years.”
That drop matters for anyone with a mortgage or planning to buy a house, because rates determine monthly payments and overall affordability over decades. Mortgage pricing is sensitive to large-scale bond purchases and to shifts in market confidence, and the administration’s moves to buy mortgage securities appear to have sent a clear signal to traders. “Home prices have been coming down, which figures to lower home prices even more,” he continued.
Mortgage rates on Friday fell below 6% for the first time in years, after President Donald Trump ordered his “representatives” to begin buying $200 billion worth of mortgage bonds, his latest push to lower costs for Americans grappling with the high cost of living.
The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed residential mortgage hit 5.99% on Friday morning, down from 6.21% on Thursday, according to data provider Mortgage News Daily. That’s the lowest the 30-year average rate has been since February 2023.
As of Friday, rates for the average 30-year mortgage have now fallen more than 1% in the past year.
Interest rates for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage also dropped significantly on Friday, falling to 5.55%.
Mortgage rates typically rise and fall very slowly, by just tenths or even hundredths of a percent per day. So the latest moves are well out of the ordinary.
Last week the White House announced plans to purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds as a way to push rates lower and reduce monthly payments for homeowners. That commitment is part of a strategy to use available capital and policy tools to blunt the pain of high housing costs and revive homebuying for middle-class families. The administration’s actions are being framed as direct interventions to repair problems left by the prior period of economic drift.
“Biden ignored the Housing Market, and instead was immersed with High Crime, Open Borders, runaway INFLATION, the Afghanistan Disaster, and a Military that he left in Chaos and Confusion. Everything was broken, but I, as President of the United States, have already fixed it! Now, I am giving special attention to the Housing Market. Because I chose not to sell Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in my First Term, a truly great decision, and against the advice of the “experts,” it is now worth many times that amount — AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE — and has $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH,” the President wrote on Truth Social.
“Because of this, I am instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS. This will drive Mortgage Rates DOWN, monthly payments DOWN, and make the cost of owning a home more affordable. It is one of my many steps in restoring Affordability, something that the Biden Administration absolutely destroyed. We are bringing back the AMERICAN DREAM that was destroyed by the last Administration. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.
The administration frames these moves as corrective and pro-family, aimed at reversing trends that priced many Americans out of the housing market. Republicans and many homeowners see the purchases and regulatory steps as pragmatic tools to bring relief now instead of waiting for slow-moving, partisan legislation. With rates falling and officials promising follow-up action with Congress, the housing debate has shifted from theory to immediate market effects.
There are still questions about long-term consequences: whether large-scale bond buying distorts markets, how to prevent future corporate buying waves, and how Congress will codify any regulatory curbs on institutional home purchases. The administration argues those issues can be managed while prioritizing access to homeownership and stabilizing monthly housing costs. For voters watching mortgage notices and listings, the short-term change in rates is already a tangible sign of shifting policy and market responsiveness.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump’s leadership and bold policies, America’s economy is back on track.
