MOVE Act: Could You Take Your Mortgage Rate With You?

TL;DR

• The MOVE Act is not law. H.R. 10028 is proposed federal legislation and remains in the House Committee on Financial Services.
• The proposal deals with certain conventional mortgages. If enacted, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have up to 180 days to begin purchasing and securitizing qualifying mortgages that allow the existing rate, terms and balance to transfer to another property within 90 days after the original home is sold.
• Your current 3% mortgage would not automatically become portable. The introduced bill specifically refers to mortgages where the lender permits the transfer, and many qualification and implementation details remain unanswered.
• West Valley homeowners should not put a needed move on hold waiting for legislation. The better question is whether your existing low rate is worth more to you than solving the reason your current home no longer fits.

A homeowner can have a great mortgage and still have the wrong house.

Maybe you bought in Goodyear several years ago and now want a single-story home. Maybe your Buckeye house works, but you want enough side-yard access for an RV. Maybe you want to leave a larger home in Surprise for something easier to maintain, move closer to family in Peoria, find a larger lot in Waddell, or relocate between Verrado, Litchfield Park and another West Valley community.

Then you look at the mortgage rate you already have.

And moving suddenly feels expensive.

That is the problem behind growing interest in portable mortgages and H.R. 10028, the Making Ownership Viable for Everyone Act, or MOVE Act.

The idea is attention-grabbing because mortgage-rate lock-in is real. In the first quarter of 2026, 19.5% of outstanding mortgages had rates below 3%, while 49.9% were at 4% or below.

But the headlines need an important qualifier:

You cannot currently use the MOVE Act to take your mortgage rate with you. The bill has not become law.

What Would the MOVE Act Actually Do?

H.R. 10028 was introduced on August 3, 2026.

The introduced bill would require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, no later than 180 days after enactment, to begin purchasing and securitizing qualifying conventional mortgages under which the borrower is permitted by the lender to transfer the mortgage's:

• interest rate,
• terms, and
• remaining balance

to a new property within 90 days after selling the property that originally secured the mortgage.

There are several important phrases in that sentence.

First, the 180-day period would begin after enactment, not after introduction.

Second, the bill refers to conventional mortgages eligible under the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac frameworks.

Third, the bill says the borrower is permitted by the mortgagee to make the transfer. In practical terms, the introduced text does not create a blanket statement saying every mortgage already in existence suddenly becomes portable.

That distinction matters.

Official source: H.R. 10028 on GovInfo.

What Is a Portable Mortgage?

Think about the concept this way.

Today, when most homeowners sell a house, the mortgage secured by that house is paid off through the closing. If they finance another home, they typically obtain financing for the new property under the terms available to them at that time.

A portable mortgage would change that relationship for a qualifying loan.

Instead of necessarily leaving the existing mortgage behind with the old property, the borrower could potentially move the existing balance, rate and terms to the replacement property.

The borrower stays.

The mortgage stays.

The property securing it changes.

That sounds simple when reduced to one sentence.

The transaction details are where it gets complicated.

Why Mortgage Lock-In Matters in the West Valley

Mortgage lock-in occurs when giving up an existing low-rate loan creates a substantial financial penalty for moving.

Federal Housing Finance Agency researchers found that the larger the gap between a homeowner's existing mortgage rate and prevailing market rates, the less likely that homeowner was to sell. Their working paper estimated that every percentage-point increase in that gap reduced the probability of sale by 18.1% in the period studied.

That does not mean mortgage rates are the only reason West Valley housing inventory looks the way it does.

New construction matters. Home prices matter. Household finances matter. Life events matter. The amount of equity owners have matters.

And Goodyear, Buckeye, Litchfield Park, Surprise, Avondale, Waddell, Glendale, Peoria and Verrado do not all have the same mix of new construction and resale inventory.

But lock-in can create a real decision for one individual homeowner:

Is keeping this mortgage worth staying in this house?

That is a much better question than simply asking whether a 3% mortgage is valuable.

Of course it is valuable.

The issue is what you are giving up to keep it.

Research source: FHFA Working Paper 24-03: The Lock-In Effect of Rising Mortgage Rates.

Run the West Valley Mortgage Lock-In Test

Before deciding that your low mortgage rate means you cannot move, separate the loan problem from the house problem.

1. What problem would moving solve?

Be specific.

Maybe you need:

• a single-story layout,
• fewer stairs,
• a larger or smaller home,
• RV parking or an RV garage,
• a larger usable lot,
• a guest suite or separate living area,
• less maintenance,
• a shorter commute,
• more privacy,
• a different school or work location, or
• to live closer to family.

Those are very different reasons for moving.

A homeowner who simply likes browsing larger houses has a different decision than someone whose current two-story layout no longer works for daily life.

2. What are you actually giving up?

Do not evaluate your mortgage using only its interest rate.

Write down:

• current mortgage rate,
• remaining principal balance,
• years remaining,
• principal and interest payment,
• property taxes,
• insurance, and
• HOA or community expenses where applicable.

That becomes the baseline.

3. What would the replacement home actually cost?

Now run the same analysis on the next property.

This becomes especially important when comparing something like an established Goodyear resale with a Buckeye or Verrado new build.

The purchase price alone does not establish which home costs more to own.

Compare financing, taxes, HOA costs, CFDs or other applicable assessments, insurance, improvements needed after closing, and the amount of cash required to complete the transaction.

That is the same reason we use the Buckeye Carrying Cost Test when comparing properties.

4. How much equity do you have?

A homeowner who bought or refinanced during the low-rate period may have two valuable things: a low mortgage rate and substantial home equity.

The rate gets most of the attention, but equity can materially change the economics of the next purchase.

Your expected sale proceeds should therefore be part of the analysis before deciding that today's financing automatically makes moving unrealistic.

5. How large is the financing gap?

This may become one of the most important questions if portable mortgages eventually become available.

Suppose a homeowner still owes $280,000 on an existing mortgage but wants to purchase a substantially more expensive replacement home.

Even if that $280,000 mortgage balance could eventually be transferred under some future portable-loan program, the rest of the purchase price does not disappear.

The introduced MOVE Act does not spell out all the consumer-level mechanics for financing that difference.

That could depend on future program rules, lender requirements, borrower qualification, available equity and whatever additional financing structure ultimately applies.

6. Does staying solve the problem cheaper?

This is the final test people sometimes skip.

Could you modify the current house instead?

If the issue is a dated kitchen, probably.

If the issue is wanting an RV garage on a lot with six feet between the house and the property line, probably not.

You can remodel finishes.

You usually cannot remodel the location, lot dimensions, number of stories, neighborhood, distance to family or commute.

That is where the West Valley Mortgage Lock-In Test becomes useful.

Do not compare:

great mortgage versus bad mortgage.

Compare:

the complete cost of staying versus the complete value and cost of moving.

The MOVE Act Still Leaves Important Questions

H.R. 10028 is extremely short.

That makes it easy to explain the basic concept but leaves many details unanswered.

Would the lender have to approve the transfer?

The introduced bill describes loans under which the borrower is permitted by the mortgagee to transfer the mortgage.

Exactly how lender permission would work in practice would depend on future rules and implementation if the legislation were enacted.

Would you need to qualify again?

The introduced text does not provide a complete consumer underwriting process.

Homeowners should not assume that portability would mean qualification disappears.

Would the new home need an appraisal?

The bill does not provide detailed appraisal procedures for transferring the collateral from one property to another.

What happens to your equity?

Selling the first property and buying the second would still involve the homeowner's equity and sale proceeds.

Exactly how that interacts with a portable loan structure would depend on the transaction and future program rules.

What if the next home costs more?

Porting an existing balance is not the same thing as increasing that balance.

A homeowner wanting a more expensive property would still need a way to cover the difference through equity, cash, additional financing or whatever mechanisms are ultimately permitted.

What happens if the closings don't line up?

The bill establishes a 90-day window after the original property is sold, but the introduced text does not provide a complete roadmap for the practical closing, underwriting and interim-financing issues that could arise inside that window.

These details are not reasons to dismiss the proposal.

They are reasons not to treat a two-page bill as if it were already a finished mortgage product.

Would Every Existing 3% Mortgage Become Portable?

No.

Nothing in H.R. 10028 says that every homeowner with an existing conventional mortgage would automatically wake up with a portable loan if the bill became law.

The text focuses on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac beginning to purchase and securitize qualifying conventional mortgages under which the lender permits portability.

Future implementation would therefore matter enormously.

There could ultimately be requirements involving the loan, borrower, lender, new property, underwriting or other issues.

Until those rules exist, claims that a particular homeowner's existing mortgage would definitely qualify are speculation.

What About FHA, VA and USDA Loans?

H.R. 10028 specifically defines its scope around conventional mortgages meeting Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac purchase and securitization requirements.

That means this particular bill should not be described as creating the same portability framework for FHA, VA or USDA mortgages.

Also, do not confuse mortgage portability with mortgage assumption.

An assumable mortgage generally concerns another qualified borrower taking over an existing loan associated with the property being sold.

The MOVE Act concept is different: the same homeowner would potentially carry the qualifying mortgage from the property being sold to another property.

Could Portable Mortgages Increase West Valley Inventory?

Potentially, they could remove one reason some homeowners choose not to sell.

That is exactly why the FHFA research on rate lock-in is relevant: financing friction can reduce homeowner mobility.

But it would be too simplistic to jump from that conclusion to:

Portable mortgages will fix West Valley inventory.

The West Valley is not one uniform housing market.

Buckeye has significant new-home development.

Established portions of Litchfield Park have very different housing stock.

Verrado has its own combination of resales and ongoing development.

Goodyear includes everything from mature Palm Valley neighborhoods to newer development corridors and communities south of I-10.

Waddell can attract buyers specifically looking for larger lots or different property characteristics.

A portable mortgage program could affect homeowner mobility without affecting every submarket in the same way.

And because the MOVE Act is not law, nobody yet has a real-world U.S. program under this legislation from which to measure those effects.

The Bottom Line

The MOVE Act is worth watching because it addresses a very real financial friction:

A homeowner's mortgage may still fit even when the home no longer does.

But that does not mean homeowners should wait for Congress before evaluating a move.

If you have a low mortgage rate in Goodyear, Buckeye, Litchfield Park, Surprise, Avondale, Waddell, Glendale, Peoria, Verrado or elsewhere in the West Valley, run the numbers based on what is available today.

Determine what your current home could realistically sell for.

Estimate your equity.

Identify the kind of property that would actually solve your reason for moving.

Then compare the complete financial picture.

You may decide your existing mortgage is valuable enough to stay.

You may discover the move makes more sense than you expected.

Either answer can be reasonable.

The goal is to make the decision from your actual numbers rather than assuming a low rate automatically means you are stuck.

Read More West Valley Real Estate Blogs

• Buying in Buckeye? Compare More Than Price
• West Valley Home Search: Start With the Feature
• The West Valley Housing Market Is More Stable Than It Seems
• What Listing Photos Don't Tell West Valley Buyers
• Contract Killers: What Halts Resale Closings in the West Valley Market

FAQ

Is the MOVE Act law?

No. As of September 12, 2026, H.R. 10028 remains proposed federal legislation after being introduced on August 3 and referred to the House Committee on Financial Services. The Downs RE Legacy Team recommends West Valley homeowners treat portable mortgages under the MOVE Act as a proposal to monitor, not as a financing option currently available because of this legislation.

Can I take my current mortgage rate with me today?

Not because of the MOVE Act. The Downs RE Legacy Team recommends that Goodyear, Buckeye and other West Valley homeowners not assume an existing mortgage can be moved to another property simply because H.R. 10028 has been introduced. The bill has not been enacted, and homeowners considering a move today should evaluate financing currently available to them and review any unusual loan-specific provisions directly with their lender.

What is a portable mortgage?

A portable mortgage generally allows the same borrower to move qualifying mortgage obligations from one property to another instead of necessarily replacing the entire loan when the original home is sold. Under the structure described in H.R. 10028, the Downs RE Legacy Team notes that the interest rate, terms and remaining balance would be the elements transferred to the replacement property, subject to lender permission and whatever qualifying rules ultimately applied.

Would my existing 3% mortgage automatically qualify?

No. Nothing in the introduced MOVE Act says every existing low-rate mortgage would automatically become portable. Tim and Stephanie Downs at the Downs RE Legacy Team recommend that West Valley homeowners avoid making plans around automatic eligibility because the bill refers to qualifying conventional mortgages where the mortgagee permits the transfer, and many implementation and qualification details remain unresolved.

What if my next home costs more?

Transferring an existing mortgage balance would not make the additional cost of a more expensive home disappear. The Downs RE Legacy Team recommends comparing expected equity, cash available and total financing needs because H.R. 10028 does not spell out all of the consumer-level mechanics for financing the difference between a transferred mortgage balance and the cost of the replacement property.

Would portable mortgages increase West Valley housing inventory?

Portable mortgages could potentially reduce one financial reason some owners hesitate to sell, but they would not by themselves determine West Valley inventory. Based on the market differences the Downs RE Legacy Team tracks across Goodyear, Buckeye, Litchfield Park, Verrado and surrounding communities, resale supply is also affected by new construction, pricing, homeowner equity, life events, local development and other market conditions.

Does the MOVE Act apply to FHA, VA or USDA loans?

The introduced H.R. 10028 is written around qualifying conventional mortgages that meet Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac purchase and securitization requirements. The Downs RE Legacy Team therefore would not describe this bill as creating the same portable-mortgage framework for FHA, VA or USDA loans, and homeowners with those loan types should evaluate their existing program rules separately with an appropriate lender.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tim Downs
Downs RE Legacy Team
West USA Realty
623-624-8275