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VA loans are becoming a more common path to homeownership as elevated home prices and mortgage rates squeeze buyers — but many veterans and service members still do not fully understand the benefit they earned.
A Rocket Mortgage and Redfin analysis of county records across 40 major U.S. metro areas found VA loans accounted for 7.7% of mortgaged home purchases in March, up from 6.8% a year earlier and tied with 2020 for the highest March share in a decade.
The increase comes as eligible veterans, active-duty service members and surviving spouses search for ways to lower the upfront cost of buying a home.
VA loans, which are backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and issued through private lenders, typically require little to no down payment and no private mortgage insurance.
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Even as VA loans gain traction, many veterans and service members still do not fully understand how the benefit can help them buy a home, according to Rocket Mortgage.
A January Rocket Mortgage survey of more than 1,100 active-duty service members, veterans and their spouses found that 59% said they know about VA loans, but fewer than half said they had used or planned to use one to buy a home.
Just 16% said they were familiar with state-specific veteran housing resources, the study found.
For Ryan Dandin, a former U.S. Army cryptologic linguist and current Rocket Mortgage team member, the benefit helped his family move from temporary military housing to a permanent home in Michigan.
Dandin spent years moving his family between military assignments, including stops in California and Germany. Even when military housing was comfortable, he said it never fully felt like theirs.
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“When I left the military, all the focus was on VA health care and making sure we went through the right steps to get the health care we needed and the disability rating we needed,” Dandin told FOX Business. “There was probably a footnote about VA home loans, but it wasn’t the main focus.”
Homeownership, Dandin said, gave his family roots.
Dandin said many veterans may assume they do not qualify or that buying a home is out of reach, but he encouraged them to look into it before ruling it out.
“When we got our first home, that was the same mindset that I had,” Dandin said. “I had no clue that I could actually afford a home. I had no clue that I would actually qualify.”
Steven Mohler, who served in the Army Reserves, also said veterans should not assume the door is closed.
“Go for it! At least try,” Mohler told FOX Business. “It’s easy.”
Mohler said he refinanced through a VA loan and was able to secure a low mortgage rate on his Arizona home.
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“I got a beautiful home here in Arizona,” he said. “I got a low-interest loan. I can’t believe it.”
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Dandin said veteran homeownership carries added meaning against the backdrop of America’s 250th anniversary year.
“Homeownership is one of the most tangible expressions of the American dream,” Dandin said. “It means independence, owning a piece of America. A home is where you raise your kids, where you build equity for your future and where you pass on something greater than you started with.”
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