Why does a mortgage payment take a bigger bite of the family budget than it did a few years ago? Federal Reserve data cited by CNBC show the monthly payment on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for a median-priced home equaled roughly 33% of median family income in 2025, up from 26% in 2022. A new executive order now aims to reduce mortgage costs, though how much borrowers will actually save is not yet clear.
What the order does and why it was issued
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order titled ‘Decreasing Housing Costs for the American People,’ CNBC reported on Oct. 23, 2026. According to CNBC, the order aims to reduce mortgage costs as rising interest rates and inflation make homeownership less affordable. It directs federal agencies to proactively cancel mortgage insurance on eligible future loans and to expand a program meant to make refinancing cheaper, among other actions. CNBC reports that it builds on previous orders to restrict Wall Street firms from buying single-family homes. The source does not give a timeline for when these changes would reach borrowers.
Following the order from Washington to a borrower’s bill
For households, the order points at two parts of the cost of owning a home. The first is mortgage insurance, which agencies are directed to cancel proactively on eligible future loans. The second is the cost of refinancing, which a program is meant to make cheaper. In an X post on Thursday, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte said ‘millions of Americans will save thousands and thousands of dollars,’ as cited by CNBC. That is a claim from a named official, not an independently verified estimate. Keith Gumbinger, vice president of mortgage website HSH, offered a more cautious view: according to CNBC, he said it is difficult to know the future consumer impact without more details. The source gives no dollar estimate of savings per borrower.
Our math: the seven-point squeeze
Using the Federal Reserve figures CNBC cited, the mortgage payment’s share of median family income rose by 7 percentage points in three years. The formula is 33% in 2025 minus 26% in 2022, which equals 7 points. As a relative change, 7 points divided by the starting 26% is about a 27% increase in the share of income going to the payment. Both figures apply to a 30-year fixed-rate loan on a median-priced home. The source gives no income or dollar payment figures, so this cannot be converted into dollars per month. It does show how much tighter the typical mortgage payment has become relative to family income, which is the affordability problem the order says it aims to ease.
This week and what to watch
Check your mortgage statement or servicer account to see whether you currently pay mortgage insurance. Keep in mind that the order targets eligible future loans, not existing ones. If you are considering a refinance, ask your lender whether the expanded refinance program could apply to you. Watch for details from federal agencies, including the Federal Housing Finance Agency, on eligibility and implementation. Until those details arrive, Gumbinger’s caution applies: the real effect on monthly payments is hard to judge. Source: CNBC. Disclaimer: This analysis is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice.
