The Mortgage Bankers Association has published a list of things it wants federal regulators to do about housing costs without waiting for Congress β cut FHA insurance premiums, loosen the requirement that lenders pull all three credit bureaus, trim Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s risk-based fees, and widen the use of automated appraisals and AI-assisted underwriting.
The trade group released the paper, titled “Affordability in Action: A Policy Roadmap to Lower the Cost of Financing a Home to Own or Rent,” at its 2026 Annual Convention and Expo in Chicago on Oct. 14. Everything in it is a recommendation; none of it is adopted policy. The announcement frames the roadmap as “near-term administrative and regulatory recommendations” aimed at changes “that can be implemented without legislative overhauls.”
That framing is the point. With the 30-year fixed rate stuck above 7% and MBA itself forecasting a 5% decline in 2027 origination volume, the association is pushing on the costs it believes agencies can change by rulemaking or guidance.
The mortgage-cost asks
The roadmap’s first of five sections deals with the upfront and monthly cost of a mortgage. MBA wants the government-sponsored enterprises to replace the tri-merge credit report mandate for lower-risk borrowers β the rule that a lender pull reports from all three national bureaus β and to reduce and align their loan-level price adjustments, the fee grid that raises a borrower’s cost based on credit score and down payment, for home purchases.
It also calls for “responsibly reducing” the Federal Housing Administration’s annual mortgage insurance premium, the ongoing charge FHA borrowers pay for the government’s insurance on their loan. The release offers an illustration rather than a specific request: MBA estimates that cutting the annual premium by 20 basis points would save a borrower with a $400,000 FHA loan nearly $800 a year.
Rounding out that section are calls to safely expand automated valuation models and AI-assisted underwriting, and to lower the cost of title insurance.
Credit access, rental housing and supply
The second section is about credit access. MBA asks for modernized loan originator compensation rules “to help lenders meet or beat a competitor’s offer” β current rules restrict how an originator’s pay can vary by loan β along with a streamlined refinance option for qualified GSE borrowers, simplified TILA/RESPA disclosure requirements, a more flexible Department of Veterans Affairs interest rate reduction refinance framework, and aligned underwriting standards for manufactured and veteran housing.
On rental housing, the association wants the GSEs’ multifamily programs made more effective, costs and administrative burdens cut in FHA multifamily and healthcare lending, and formal recognition of “the variety of investors and financing models that support the nation’s rental housing stock.” MBA counted $381.8 billion of multifamily lending in 2025, a 32% jump over the prior year.
A fourth section addresses supply: expanding condominium and new-construction financing, modernizing FHA’s 203(k) rehabilitation program for buyers of fixer-uppers, tailoring Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements to federal housing programs, backing state and local incentives for affordable construction β and opposing state and local rent-control mandates and extended eviction moratoriums.
The last section is structural: right-sizing bank capital requirements for mortgage risk, and reviving the private-label mortgage securities market, which MBA argues would expand sources of mortgage capital and increase competition in lending.
What the association says about it
“MBA and its members are continuously working with policymakers to advance solutions that lower housing costs. This paper builds on that advocacy by laying out focused steps policymakers can take now,” said Bob Broeksmit, the association’s president and chief executive. “These recommendations would reduce unnecessary costs, expand access to responsible credit, support the development of more housing, and strengthen the housing finance system for the long term.”
Owen Lee, the 2027 MBA chairman and chief executive of Success Mortgage Partners, put it in plainer terms: “The goal is straightforward: strip away unnecessary costs and complexity that ultimately show up in a higher mortgage rate, excessive closing costs, or a higher rent.” He called the items “practical, achievable steps that can help make housing more affordable while maintaining responsible lending standards and supporting a stronger housing supply.”
The release also draws a line the association clearly expects to be questioned, saying its recommendations “reflect a commitment to sustainable housing affordability β not looser credit or lower building standards, but a more efficient path to responsible homeownership and rental housing development.”
What it would take
Several of these items sit with specific agencies rather than with Congress: FHA premiums are set by HUD, loan-level price adjustments and credit-report requirements by the GSEs under Federal Housing Finance Agency oversight, loan originator compensation and TILA/RESPA by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and bank mortgage capital by the banking regulators. That is what makes the roadmap a near-term document in the association’s framing β and also what makes it a list of requests to several different decision-makers, each on its own timetable.
The roadmap does not put a combined dollar figure on what the package would save a typical borrower, and it does not address who would absorb the cost of a lower FHA premium. The FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund is funded by those premiums, and its capital ratio is reported to Congress annually. More mortgage coverage is here.
