National Survey Shows Service Members, Veterans Are Optimistic About Homebuying in 2023

January 18, 2023

COLUMBIA, Mo., Jan. 18, 2023 - Interest rate hikes and all-cash offers made homebuying challenging for service members and Veterans in the market last year, but most are optimistic about buying in 2023, according to a new national survey by Veterans United Home Loans, the nation's largest VA lender.

Even with the rocky rate and affordability outlook, 30% of current service members and 15% of Veterans plan to buy a home in 2023. Looking further, nearly three quarters of current service members (71%) plan to buy a home in the next five years.

"Despite continuing challenges in the housing market, service members and Veterans feel they will be in a great position to buy this year," said Chris Birk, vice president of mortgage insight at Veterans United. "A major reason why is their hard-earned VA loan benefit. Nearly 80 years later, this transformational benefit is still helping Veterans get a foothold in the housing market and create generational wealth."

Key findings from the 2023 Service Member and Veteran Homebuyer Report include:

• Current service members are most optimistic about homebuying. About 1 in 3 current service members plan to buy a home in the next year, while only 15% of Veterans plan to buy. About 4 in 10 (43%) Reserve and National Guard military members expect to buy a home in the next 12 months.
• The VA loan levels the homebuying field for service members and Veterans. More than half of service members and Veterans (54%) currently have a VA home loan and about 28% have used one in the past. The share of VA loans grew more than 2.6% between January and December of 2022.
• The option to buy with no down payment remains the No. 1 reason service members and Veterans choose the VA loan. About 60% of service members and Veterans say zero down payment is the top reason for choosing their VA home loan benefit.
• About 90% of service members are aware of the VA home loan benefit. Awareness is lowest among Reserve and National Guard members. More than a third of active duty members are aware of the VA home loan program through another active service member. However, the further away currently serving members are from a military base, the lower their benefit awareness. About 94% of active duty service members living less than 30 minutes from a base are aware of the benefit compared to 69% for those living more than three hours away.

Click here to read the full 2023 Service Member and Veteran Homebuyer Report.

About Veterans United Home Loans

Based in Columbia, Missouri, the full-service national lender financed more than $26 billion in loans in Fiscal Year 2022 and is the country's largest VA lender, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs Lender Statistics. The company's mission is to help Veterans and service members take advantage of the home loan benefits earned by their service.

VeteransUnited.com | 1-800-884-5560 | 550 Veterans United Drive, Columbia, MO 65201 | Veterans United Home Loans NMLS # 1907 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org). A VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. Licensed in all 50 states. For State Licensing information, please visit http://www.veteransunited.com/licenses/. Equal Opportunity Lender.