Housing / VA (Veterans Administration) Housing

Since its establishment in 1944, the VA Home Loan Guarantee Program has helped millions of veterans purchase and maintain homes. NAR believes this program is a vital homeownership tool that provides veterans with a centralized, affordable, and accessible method of purchasing homes as a benefit for their service to our nation.

However, veterans continue to face barriers to homeownership, including market challenges and misconceptions about VA loans that may limit their options. Additionally, many veterans remain unaware of their VA loan benefits or how to access them effectively.

In 2019, NAR was successful in removing the home loan limit cap for VA home loans. Now our nation's veterans can purchase any home they can qualify for, without a limit on value.

VA loans provide zero-downpayment financing for veterans and surviving spouses, making them an important financing option for REALTORS® to understand and promote to eligible clients.

REALTORS® can obtain the Military Relocation Professional (MRP) certification to better prepare them to work with U.S. servicemembers, their families, and veterans. The program educates REALTORS® on how to help military homebuyers find the best housing solutions to meet their needs and take full advantage of available benefits.

NAR is a strong supporter of, and REALTORS® are a major participant in, the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program. The VA Home Loan Guarantee Program has guaranteed more than 25 million loans to American veterans, with a total loan volume over one trillion dollars.  This program is a vital homeownership tool that provides veterans with a centralized, affordable, and accessible method of purchasing homes as a benefit for their service to our nation.

There is no current political opposition to the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program.  Some home sellers may be hesitant to sell their homes to buyers using the VA Home Loan Guaranty Program because of misconceptions about appraisal issues, slower closing times, and seller-paid fees.

NAR successfully advocated for the Department of Veterans Affairs to temporarily suspend the policy barring veterans from paying buyer-broker fees in 2024, providing immediate relief for veteran homebuyers. Building on this success, NAR successfully advocated for the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act (H.R. 1815), which was signed into law July 2025 after passing Congress unanimously. This legislation requires the VA to develop a permanent strategy to ensure veterans aren't disadvantaged when seeking real estate representation. The law also creates a partial claims program for veterans facing foreclosure.

NAR continues to advocate for additional improvements to help veterans access their earned benefits. Currently, only 10-15% of eligible veterans use their VA loan benefits, making increased awareness crucial. NAR has endorsed the bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act of 2025, which unanimously passed the Senate Banking Committee and includes both the Veterans Affairs Loan Informed Disclosure (VALID) Act and the VA Home Loan Awareness Act. These provisions would require lenders to inform veterans about VA loan options alongside conventional and FHA loans and require Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to include disclosures on loan applications notifying applicants with military service that they may qualify for VA loans.

NAR also continues to work with Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs on other program enhancements. Veterans are still losing out on some home purchases due to their inability to pay certain fees. NAR advocates for veterans to negotiate reasonable and customary fees while maintaining consumer protections, supports benefit inheritance for descendants of certain veterans, and backs policies allowing veterans to transfer their interest rates to buyers.

• ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 (S.2651): Comprehensive bipartisan housing legislation that includes veterans awareness provisions requiring lenders and GSEs to inform veterans about VA loan options during the application process
• Veterans Affairs Loan Informed Disclosure (VALID) Act (H.R. 3694/S. 1932): Requires lenders to inform veterans about VA loan options alongside conventional and FHA loans during mortgage applications
• VA Home Loan Awareness Act (H.R. 2362/S. 138): Requires Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to include disclosure on loan applications notifying applicants with military service that they may qualify for VA loans