VA Loans Can Buy a Home About 4 Years Sooner, but 0% Down Costs $20 More a Month
Key Takeaways A 0% down VA loan saved $41,925 upfront on the September median-priced home versus a 10% down conforming loan, cutting the time to homeownership by around four years, according to a new Realtor.com report. At the same 10% down, a VA loan payment was $2,387 a month versus $2,648 for a conforming loan, a saving of $261 a month, or 9.8%. Over the past year, 75.7% of VA-financed purchases required no down payment, and 24.3% of VA borrowers had fair credit scores, versus just 4.8% of conforming borrowers. The biggest barrier may be awareness: only 3 in 10 veterans were aware of the zero down payment benefit in a Veterans United survey cited in the report. A veteran who can afford a monthly payment but has not yet saved a down payment may be waiting years for no reason. That is the central finding of the Realtor.com VA loan report released on November 10, 2026, in recognition of Veterans Day. The report compares VA loans with conforming loans originated over the past 12 months...