The MOVE Act | Could You Buy a New House and Keep Your Old Mortgage Rate?

Summary: The MOVE Act is a proposed bill in Congress. It has not passed, no vote is scheduled, and it changes nothing about your mortgage today. If it does pass, it would let some homeowners carry their existing rate, balance, and terms to a new home instead of starting over at today’s rates. Here is what it says, what it would and would not do in the Gallatin Valley, and what it means if a low rate is the only thing keeping you in a house that no longer fits.

What does the MOVE Act propose?

If you bought or refinanced in 2020 or 2021, there is a good chance you are holding a rate somewhere in the 2.5% to 4% range, and the thought of trading it for one that starts with a 6% or a 7% is enough to keep you from moving. 

The Making Ownership Viable for Everyone Act, filed as H.R. 10028, was introduced on August 3, 2026 by Representative Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey. It is built around “portable” mortgages. Instead of paying off your loan when you sell and taking out a new one at the going rate, you could carry your existing rate, balance, and terms to the home you buy next.

Important to know: The bill does not force any bank to offer this. It directs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two entities that buy most mortgages from lenders, to start purchasing and securitizing portable loans, which is what would make a lender willing to offer one. If it became law, Fannie and Freddie would have about 180 days to begin.

What’s the difference between portable and assumable mortgages?

An assumable mortgage stays with the house. When you sell, a qualified buyer can step into your loan and your rate, which is why FHA, VA, and USDA loans sometimes show up as a selling feature. A portable mortgage works the other way, it follows you to your next property. Conventional loans, the kind Fannie and Freddie handle, cannot do that today, and that is what the bill is trying to change.

Why is Congress looking at portable mortgages?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie and Freddie, estimates that mortgage rate lock-in prevented about 1.72 million home sales nationwide between the second quarter of 2022 and the second quarter of 2024. Fewer owners selling means fewer homes on the market, and that tighter supply pushes prices up for everyone still trying to buy. Portable mortgages are one way to loosen that without waiting on the Federal Reserve to move rates.

What would the MOVE Act mean in the Gallatin Valley?

A note for homeowners in Montana: The MOVE Act would apply to conventional conforming loans, and those loans have a limit. The FHFA did not name any Montana county, Gallatin included, as a high-cost area, so the limit for a conforming loan (as of 2026) is $832,750.  Any loan above that amount is considered a jumbo loan, which means the MOVE Act would not apply.  

If you bought a house in Montana on a conventional loan with a balance of less than $832,750, your loan is conforming, and you are the person this bill is written for. For the homeowners who are financed above that $832,750 threshold, your mortgage rate would not be portable.

The bill leaves several questions on the table:

• Moving up. Say you carry a $300,000 balance at your old 3% rate to a home that costs $500,000. That leaves $200,000 you still have to borrow, and the bill does not say at what rate or on what terms. Countries that already allow portable mortgages, like Canada and the UK, blend the two rates, your old low rate on the amount you carried over and today’s higher rate on the new money, so you end up with one rate in the middle.

• Permission and timing. Applying the MOVE Act to a new home purchase will require lender approval. Early versions of the bill imply that you will have about 90 days from the sale of your current home to port the loan to the next one. Most purchases here come together in six to eight weeks, and an offer that hinges on selling your home first + a longer timeline could lose out in a competitive situation. We still see multiple offers in our area believe it or not, so something like this could be a disadvantage to a person selling their old home and buying a new one with a portable mortgage. 

• The fine print. How private mortgage insurance, escrow, and qualification would carry over has not been worked out. Your lender would be the right person for loan specific questions. 

   

Where the bill stands, and what homeowners can do now.

The MOVE Act has been introduced and referred to committee, with no vote scheduled. That is the early end of a long road, and most bills that reach it never become law. This one has drawn interest from both parties and the administration, which gives it more hope than the average filing, but a bill being introduced and a bill becoming law are a long way apart.

You do not have to wait on Washington to get clear, though. If you have been assuming trading out a low mortgage rate for a higher one will make your next move impossible, it’s worth running the numbers to be sure.

Even if this bill doesn’t pan out there are still some other options. Every now and then a home will come on the market with an assumable loan, allowing the new owner to take over the previous owners mortgage rate. We just saw this happen with a Bozeman condo who’s new owners were able to assume a 3.25% rate on the mortgage. 

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The other glimmer of hope? Home prices in the Gallatin Valley have seen downward pressure, and the market is not nearly as competitive as it used to be. We often see price reductions on properties, and  there is far more wiggle room for negotiations now than there was a few years ago. 

👉🏻 See price reductions 

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