Veteran Homebuyers Flock to Cheaper ZIP Codes

That was as home prices soared in many parts of the U.S.

Seeking deals in more affordable areas

Thanks to rock-bottom mortgage rates, U.S. home sales have surged — and many veterans who go house hunting are encountering “tight inventories (of homes for sale) and the rising cost of housing,” says Veterans United, America’s largest provider of VA loans for homebuyers.

VU says the hot housing market led nearly half (42%) of its borrowers to relocate to more affordable ZIP codes when they bought homes with VA loans last year.

The loans are backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, require no money down, and are available for service members, veterans and some surviving spouses. Demand for those mortgages soared 11.4% in 2020, VU says.

The lender doesn’t offer any possible reasons for the surge, but cheap mortgage rates may be one explanation. As the pandemic wrecked the economy, rates hit all-time lows multiple times last year — and 30-year VA loans have been available at 2.25% or less.

Where veterans are fleeing to cheaper housing

Veterans United says these are the 10 metro areas where homebuyers were most likely to use a VA loan to move somewhere less expensive in 2020:

1. Riverside, California
2. New York
3. Nashville, Tennessee
4. Seattle
5. Austin, Texas
6. Boston
7. Los Angeles
8. Minneapolis
9. Virginia Beach, Virginia
10. Tampa, Florida

Most military buyers in those markets who relocated found lower-priced housing within the same area, the lender says, though Riverside was an exception: 64% of VA loan users there chose to leave the metro area last year.

Here are the 10 states where homebuying veterans were most likely to move to less expensive ZIP codes last year, according to VU:

1. Hawaii
2. California
3. Massachusetts
4. Washington
5. New York
6. Virginia
7. Colorado
8. New Hampshire
9. Maryland
10. Utah

The outlook for military homebuyers

Service members and veterans who want to buy homes in 2021 are likely to keep focusing on more affordable areas.

The supply of homes for sale continues to decrease, dropping by nearly 40% in December compared to a year earlier, according to Realtor.com. The same data shows listing prices are still rising, typically with double-digit increases every month.