The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) at its 2026 Annual Convention and Expo released “Affordability in Action: A Policy Roadmap to Lower the Cost of Financing a Home to Own or Rent,” a set of near-term administrative and regulatory recommendations designed to reduce the costs of buying or renting a home.
The roadmap focuses on targeted changes that can be implemented without legislative overhauls and are designed to lower upfront closing costs, reduce monthly mortgage or rent payments, and decrease the cost of building and financing new housing supply. The recommendations are intended to preserve the safety and soundness of the housing finance system while reducing unnecessary regulatory and administrative costs.
“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 MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit, CMB. “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.”
“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,” said Owen Lee, 2027 MBA Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Success Mortgage Partners, Inc. “These are practical, achievable steps that can help make housing more affordable while maintaining responsible lending standards and supporting a stronger housing supply.”
The roadmap outlines recommendations across five areas:
Lower the upfront and monthly cost of a mortgage. MBA calls for replacing Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s (the GSEs) current tri-merge credit report mandate for lower-risk borrowers; reducing and aligning the GSEs’ loan-level price adjustments (LLPAs) for home purchases; responsibly reducing Federal Housing Administration (FHA) annual mortgage insurance premiums; safely expanding the use of automated valuation models and AI-assisted underwriting; and lowering the cost of title insurance. For example, MBA estimates that a 20-basis-point reduction in FHA annual MIP would save a borrower with a $400,000 loan nearly $800 per year.
Open the door to credit for more qualified borrowers. Recommendations include modernizing loan originator compensation rules to help lenders meet or beat a competitor’s offer, creating a streamlined refinance option for qualified GSE borrowers, simplifying TILA/RESPA requirements, finalizing a more flexible Department of Veterans Affairs Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan framework, and aligning manufactured and veteran housing underwriting standards.
Lower the cost of financing and building rental housing. MBA recommends advancing the effectiveness of GSE multifamily programs, reducing costs and administrative burdens in FHA multifamily and healthcare lending, and recognizing the variety of investors and financing models that support the nation's rental housing stock.
Expand the supply of affordable housing. The roadmap calls for expanding condominium and new-construction financing, modernizing the FHA 203(k) rehabilitation program, tailoring Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements to federal housing programs, supporting state and local incentives for affordable housing construction, and opposing state and local rent-control mandates and extended eviction moratoriums.
Strengthen the housing finance system for the long run. MBA recommends right-sizing bank capital requirements for mortgage risk and reviving the private-label mortgage securities market to expand sources of mortgage capital and promote greater competition in mortgage lending.
MBA’s recommendations reflect a commitment to sustainable housing affordability — not looser credit or lower building standards, but a more efficient path to responsible homeownership and rental housing development.