About 74 percent of veteran homeowners are sitting on a rate under 5 percent, and many of those loans can be handed straight to the next buyer. It is called an assumable mortgage, it is the most underused move in this market, and the Special Feature below shows exactly how it works.
Rates eased, and buyers noticed.
The 30-year averaged 6.43 percent for the week ending July 2, its lowest in seven weeks and about a quarter point below last year. Cheaper borrowing is part of why demand is picking back up.
Source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending July 2, 2026. A year ago the 30-year averaged 6.67%.
Friday close to Tuesday open
The weekly survey above is the official benchmark. Here is how the daily lender index actually moved from the end of last week into this one.
What moved it: a softer June jobs report on July 2 nudged rates to a seven-week low. A quiet data week and a cautious, inflation-focused Fed have kept them range-bound since. Next up: June inflation data on July 14 and the Fed decision on July 28 and 29.
Daily 30-year index: Mortgage News Daily, July 2 to July 7, 2026. Daily figures run higher than the weekly Freddie Mac survey.
The market just rebalanced
The June numbers landed last week, and they tell one clear story: prices are down, buyers are back, and homes are no longer sitting longer than they did a year ago.
Source: Realtor.com June 2026 Monthly Housing Trends Report (released July 1, 2026).
Vet Corner
Two VA perks worth real money
First, the VA funding fee became tax-deductible in 2026 for eligible borrowers. On a typical purchase that fee runs into the thousands, so it is a real line item at tax time. Check with your tax advisor on your situation.
Second, about one in three eligible veterans pays no funding fee at all. If you receive VA disability compensation, you are very likely exempt, which can save thousands up front on a purchase or a refinance.
These are not new programs, just benefits a lot of veterans never claim. The VA backed 528,343 loans last year, up almost 27 percent, so more people are using them. Make sure you get every dollar you earned.
Buyer Tip
Hunt the homes that have been sitting
New research found homes that sell in their first four weeks go for about 1.8 percent more than average, while homes sitting 18 weeks or longer sell for about 1.3 percent less (Realtor.com). That is a three-point swing in the buyer's favor on a stale listing.
Right now about 18.5 percent of listings have already cut their price. A home that has been on the market a while is where your leverage lives: price cuts, closing-cost help, and a seller who is ready to deal.
Ask your agent to sort by days on market, then go make an offer on the house nobody else is fighting over.
The FHA 203k renovation loan
Buy the dated house and fix it, all in one loan
The 203k rolls the purchase price and the cost of repairs into a single mortgage, based on what the home will be worth after the work is done. A new kitchen, a new roof, new systems, even a full gut, all financed together, with as little as 3.5 percent down.
It pairs perfectly with the tip above. The homes that have been sitting are often the dated ones other buyers scroll right past. With a 203k, that stale listing becomes your chance to buy at a discount and build instant equity by fixing it up.
Four things worth knowing
- 1Prices are falling at the fastest pace since 2017The median list price slipped to $430,000 in June, down 2.5 percent from a year ago, the steepest annual drop in Realtor.com's data since 2017 and the eighth straight month of declines.
- 2But buyers are showing up, not sitting outPending sales rose 3.7 percent from a year ago, the seventh straight month of growth (Realtor.com), and Zillow reported home sales jumped 9.2 percent from May. Lower prices are pulling buyers off the fence.
- 3Homes stopped sitting longerFor the first time in 26 months, the typical home spent no more time on the market than it did a year ago, about 53 days. The long stretch of slowing sales appears to have leveled off.
- 4Renters are getting deals tooNearly 40 percent of rental listings offered a concession in June, up from about 35 percent a year ago (Zillow). Whether you rent or buy, the leverage is shifting toward you this summer.
Sources: Realtor.com June 2026 Monthly Housing Trends Report (released July 1) and Zillow June Market Report (released July 7).
The sub-3% mortgage that is still out there
Here is a number most buyers have never heard. Around 74 percent of veteran homeowners hold a mortgage rate under 5 percent, many locked in below 3 percent during the pandemic (Veterans United analysis of Ginnie Mae data). And a lot of those loans can be handed straight to the next buyer. It is called an assumable mortgage.
Here is how it works. FHA, VA, and USDA loans can be assumed, which means a qualified buyer takes over the seller's existing loan, keeping the same rate, the same balance, and the same remaining term. There are roughly 12 million of these assumable loans out there right now. Assuming a 3 percent loan instead of taking a new one near 6.5 percent can cut a payment by several hundred dollars a month, sometimes more than 900 dollars on a 400,000 dollar balance.
It is the closest thing to time travel this market offers. And almost nobody asks for it.
There is a catch, and it is why assumptions are not more common: the equity gap. You still pay the seller for the equity they have built, the difference between the sale price and what is left on their loan. That gap is covered with cash or a second loan, and it is the biggest hurdle to clear.
Finding them takes a little work, since assumable loans are not flagged on most listing sites. Marketplaces like Roam and Assumable.io now list tens of thousands of them, and your agent can simply ask a listing agent whether the seller's loan is assumable. One note for veterans: if a non-veteran assumes your VA loan, your entitlement stays tied up until that loan is paid off, so know the rules before you let someone assume yours.
Assumptions are not for everyone. They take longer to close, you need cash for the equity gap, and the servicer still has to approve you. But when the numbers line up, the savings run into six figures over the life of the loan. If you want to see whether an assumption beats a new loan on a specific house, send it to me and I will run both side by side.
Your market, your numbers
National averages are a starting line, not your answer. Rates, prices, and loan programs shift by zip code. Tell me where you are looking and I will pull the real numbers for you.
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We just crossed the halfway point of 2026, and the real story this week is not the Fed. It is that the market quietly tilted toward you.
Prices are falling at the fastest pace in almost a decade. Homes are no longer sitting longer than they did last year. And buyers, after two years of waiting, are finally showing up and getting deals. If you have been on the sidelines, the ground has shifted in your favor.
The move I am most fired up about is the assumable loan. Three out of four veteran homeowners are sitting on a rate under 5 percent, and most of them, and most of their buyers, have no idea some of those loans can be passed along. That is real money left on the table.
So here is my ask for the back half of the year. If you are buying, go find the house that has been sitting and make your move. If you are a veteran, claim every benefit you earned. And whatever you do, know your real numbers first. Reach out and let's run them together.
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