The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposal to lower mortgage insurance premiums to 25 basis points for all Federal Housing Administration multifamily mortgage loan programs “has both lenders and borrowers enthusiastic about the future of multifamily housing,” according to Cambridge Realty Capital Companies.

“Previously, the 25-point premium was only available to properties which met one or more green building standards, and other apartment properties paid a higher MIP,” Cambridge said in a press release.

The overall mortgage insurance premiums reduction for HUD multifamily programs includes the programs that are applicable to affordable senior housing, Zachary Scardina, vice president of Cambridge Realty Capital Companies, told the McKnight’s Business Daily.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner said that leveling MIPs is meant to drive competitive financing and lower costs, thus spurring development. The proposal follows Donald Trump’s action titled Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis and his executive order titled Unleashing American Energy.

“For too long, access to housing has been tied to obsolete, ideological mandates,” Turner said.

HUD also proposes eliminating the Green MIP category, saying that under its proposal, the Green MIP category “becomes economically obsolete, because MIP rates are uniformly proposed at 25 basis points, and for all loans closed under a Green MIP rate, the requirements to evidence the initial green building achievement and the annual reporting of energy performance would be fully eliminated.”

Scardina said that “eliminating the Green and Energy Efficient MIP category levels the playing field and improves accessibility to critical funding, which ultimately benefits communities and people who need housing the most.”

HUD’s notice was posted in the Federal Register June 26. Comments are due July 28.