By Ben Levisohn

President Donald Trump just launched his latest salvo in his battle against high mortgage rates to make home buying more affordable.

In a post on Truth Social Thursday afternoon, Trump said that he was "instructing my Representatives to BUY $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN MORTGAGE BONDS" as a way to drive down mortgage rates. Trump cited the increase in the value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac since he decided not to sell them during his first term, as well as their $200 BILLION DOLLARS IN CASH," a number that can't be confirmed from the companies' balance sheet.

While Trump's post leaves many unanswered questions -- Who is doing the buying? What will they be buying? Who will be selling? Will it really happen? Where is the cash? What does this mean for the eventual privatization of Fannie and Freddie? -- the market is responding as if it might happen. The Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities exchange-traded fund has gained 1.4% in after-hours trading, though the iShares MBS ETF has risen just 0.3% and the Angel Oak Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF has ticked up 0.1%.

Earlier this week, Trump announced that he would prevent institutional investors from buying houses, something critics have blamed for the high prices in the market. He has also encouraged the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to bring home-loan costs down.

Whether any of it comes to fruition remains to be seen.

Write to Ben Levisohn at ben.levisohn@barrons.com

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January 08, 2026 17:47 ET (22:47 GMT)

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