Overview

• FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program cannot sell new or renewal policies during a lapse, a constraint NAR says could endanger roughly 1,300 property transactions per day.
• USDA will stop issuing new direct and guaranteed rural home loans, with scheduled direct-loan closings postponed and some guaranteed closings proceeding only at lender risk.
• HUD’s plan keeps FHA single-family endorsements running at reduced capacity, while reverse mortgages and some approvals pause, and the VA continues guarantees with likely slower processing.
• Mortgage files may face delays from curtailed IRS verifications and other third-party checks even as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac maintain core operations.
• Industry guidance flags potential layoffs under an OMB directive and warns that delayed federal economic data could spur rate volatility and strain already thin agency staffing.