Veterans head into 2027 with an edge most homebuyers don’t have: A homeownership rate 17 points higher than non-veterans and a loan program that requires no down payment in many cases. Many of them don’t know how to use those benefits, according to Amit Kulkarni, CEO of Homes for Heroes, and he sees that as an opening for agents who do.
Seventy-seven percent of veterans own their homes, compared with 60 percent of non-veterans, according to an analysis of 2024 American Community Survey data that Homes for Heroes released ahead of Veterans Day. Kulkarni told Inman that early 2027 forecasts look similar to 2026, and some look weaker. He said agents who focus on veteran buyers will be working with clients who are ready to move.
By the numbers
- 77%: Veterans who own their homes, compared with 60 percent of non-veterans
- 46.6%: Homeownership rate among veteran households under 35, compared with 31.9 percent of non-veterans
- 13.6 points: The racial homeownership gap among veteran households, compared with 22.6 points nationally
- $0: Down payment required on many VA loans
- 0.7%: Hero Rewards on a qualifying purchase, where state law allows
“If you’re a real estate professional, whether you’re in mortgage or on the real estate sales side, finding those transactions is going to be key,” Kulkarni said. “And focusing on this cohort, this demographic, I think is something you should really think about as a professional because these folks are just better equipped to buy homes.”
A gap in awareness
Amit Kulkarni
Kulkarni went into the research expecting veterans to know their VA homeownership benefits, and he said the results surprised him.
“I would have thought that a lot of veterans would know about the benefits offered through VA for homeownership, and I was surprised to learn that a lot of folks don’t know about it,” he said.
That gap is where he sees agents coming in. His advice to veteran buyers is to find an agent who knows VA loans and the programs available in their area.
“If you’re a veteran, associate with an agent who really understands the space because you might be missing out on a lot of opportunity to get into a home that you might not even know about,” he said.
Working around affordability
Veterans face the same price and inventory pressure as every other buyer, Kulkarni said.
“The affordability challenges are there for everybody,” he said. “Inventory challenges are rampant. But in every market, people do buy and sell homes.”
He said the zero-down VA loan is where veterans have the clearest advantage.
“That to me is one of the biggest benefits veterans get that most everybody else does not get: the ability to get into a home with $0 down,” Kulkarni said.
The VA loan also removes monthly private mortgage insurance, and the report lists other benefits agents and loan officers can help clients sort through. The company’s Veterans Home Loan Guide covers them in more detail:
- Repeat use: VA loans aren’t limited to first-time buyers. Eligible borrowers can reuse the benefit, subject to entitlement rules, and some qualify for a funding fee exemption.
- Qualifying income: Tax-free VA disability compensation and verified Basic Allowance for Housing may count toward mortgage qualification, subject to lender requirements.
- Housing grants: Veterans with certain service-connected disabilities may qualify for grants to buy, build or adapt a home for accessibility.
- State and local help: Down payment and closing cost assistance, veteran-specific financing and property tax relief vary by location.
- After closing: Eligible owners can refinance through a VA Interest Rate Reduction Refinance Loan, and qualifying service members have added protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.
For veterans who have written off buying, Kulkarni said the first step is learning which of those programs apply to them.
“Once you get the education, I think knowledge is power,” he said. “It’s going to open a lot of doors and a lot of possibilities that you might not have known existed for you.”
The next wave of buyers
The gap is wider among younger households, the group agents have waited on for years. Among households under 35, 46.6 percent of veterans own homes, compared with 31.9 percent of non-veterans, according to the report. Memphis, Tennessee, had the largest gap for that age group among the 50 largest metros, at 66 percent for veterans and 46.9 percent for non-veterans.
“Even in that sort of underrepresented first-time homebuyer cohort, there’s just a bigger percentage of veterans that are homeowners than non-veterans,” Kulkarni said.
The report found a narrower racial gap among veterans as well. The gap between white and non-white homeownership is 22.6 percentage points nationally and 13.6 points among veteran households. The report notes that the data shows a pattern but doesn’t prove military service is the reason veterans own homes at higher rates. Kulkarni said he credits VA loans and the GI Bill for part of the difference.
Hero rewards
Homes for Heroes, founded after the Sept. 11 attacks, has a financial stake in reaching veteran buyers. Its affiliated agents and lenders return a portion of their earnings to heroes after closing. For veterans, that reward generally equals 0.7 percent of the purchase price where state law allows, according to the company.
Kulkarni, who became CEO Oct. 1, said the company has worked with 27,506 military members and veterans and returned $62 million to them.
Choosing to serve
Kulkarni said he has heard from Homes for Heroes agents and clients that some veterans who did not serve in a war zone feel they haven’t earned the benefits.
“They should all feel worthy because they’re doing something the vast majority of Americans have chosen not to do,” he said.
“To me, the act of heroism is not necessarily the thing that you do,” Kulkarni said. “It’s making the choice to do those things.”
