November 11, 2025
VA loans are a low- to no-down cost possibility accessible to qualifying veterans, active-duty service members, and their surviving spouses.
U.S. veterans are foundational to America’s id. Nevertheless, they’ve lengthy confronted distinctive challenges transitioning again to civilian life. To assist, the federal government has launched varied packages over the many years to assist veterans in training, employment, and housing. Probably the most impactful steps was the GI Invoice, handed in 1944, which established the VA house mortgage program.
VA loans provide low- to no-down-payment choices for qualifying veterans, active-duty service members, and their surviving spouses. It’s one of the crucial highly effective instruments accessible to veterans and has helped hundreds of thousands achieve entry to homeownership. And after dipping in recent times, VA mortgage use is climbing once more.
Nationwide, 7.3% of mortgaged homebuyers used a VA mortgage in August 2025, up from 6.5% a yr earlier and the best share for that month since 2019. The variety of homebuyers utilizing VA loans has additionally elevated, rising 3% yr over yr, whereas typical mortgage use declined by 9%.
Redfin Actual Property seems to be at cities the place VA loans are commonest and what’s behind the upward development.
US cities with the best shares of VA loans, August 2025
VA loans are largely clustered in cities with a significant navy presence, led by Virginia Seashore, Virginia, Jacksonville, Florida, and Washington, D.C. Virginia Seashore, which noticed the biggest improve in VA mortgage use since final yr, additionally has the largest focus of lively navy personnel exterior the Pentagon. Almost 100,000 active-duty navy members are stationed within the area throughout the Air Pressure, Military, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and NATO.
The Jacksonville space is house to a number of navy services, together with naval stations and a submarine base; Washington, D.C., is house to the Pentagon and a handful of navy bases. Rounding out the highest 5 are San Diego for the Navy and Las Vegas for the Air Pressure.
Across the nation, VA loans have develop into extra widespread due to right this moment’s robust purchaser’s market. Extra sellers are keen to simply accept provides with low down funds — a distinction with the ultra-strong vendor’s market of the pandemic period, when increased down funds had been most well-liked. For instance, in late 2020 and early 2021, when mortgage charges had been at document lows, fewer than 6% of homebuyers utilizing mortgages had been utilizing VA loans.
Sellers choose increased down funds in a extra aggressive market as a result of they need to maximize their revenue. However in slower markets, sellers could not obtain a number of provides and could also be open to accepting one with a decrease down cost.
US cities with the bottom shares of VA loans
VA loans are the least widespread within the nation’s most costly metros, particularly these with no main navy base. A low focus of veterans or service members sometimes means fewer VA mortgage purchases. Three of those metros additionally noticed declines in total VA mortgage use yr over yr.
New Brunswick and Newark, whereas not significantly dear, are additionally much less standard amongst veterans. This might be because of having fewer veterans or service members total, and the truth that each metros are among the many remaining vendor’s markets, the place sellers usually tend to be choosier.
What’s a VA mortgage?
VA loans are a sort of assumable mortgage assured by the U.S. authorities. They provide one of many lowest-barrier methods to purchase a house, often requiring no down cost and no non-public mortgage insurance coverage. Nevertheless, there are necessary eligibility necessities to remember, comparable to time in service and the kind of property.
What does the way forward for VA loans appear to be?
Though VA loans have gotten extra widespread, solely a small share of homebuyers use them. Even when mixed with FHA loans — one other low-cost, government-backed mortgage — they accounted for lower than 1 / 4 of all patrons in August, in contrast with 79% of typical house loans.
VA mortgage use is comparatively low as a result of they’re solely accessible to a small portion of the inhabitants. And, even in right this moment’s purchaser’s market, some sellers nonetheless favor these with bigger down funds. The share may nonetheless be a lot increased, although: A latest evaluation by Veterans United Residence Loans discovered that certified veterans underutilized $28 billion price of VA loans in 2024 alone.
VA loans are a significant device that helps veterans obtain the American dream by offering a low- to no-down-payment path to homeownership. Extra consciousness, stronger protections, and continued coverage assist will assist guarantee veterans can absolutely entry and profit from this system they’ve sacrificed themselves for.
Methodology
This story relies on an October 2025 Redfin report, which analyzed county data throughout 40 of probably the most populous U.S. metropolitan areas. August 2025 is the newest month for which information is obtainable. Knowledge on mortgage sorts is restricted to house purchases for which patrons took out a mortgage, and thus excludes all-cash purchases.
This story was produced by Redfin Actual Property and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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