Today's Vets First Generation Without Key Housing Advantage

While in general, American veterans are more likely to own their home than civilians, the opposite is true for post-9/11, 21st century veterans.

These vets are far more likely to struggle to afford housing than any other veteran group, and more than the average non-veteran citizen, finds a new report from Apartment List studying housing affordability for 21st century veterans, and veteran homeownership by tour of duty. About 35 percent of these vets spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing (cost-burdened), and fewer than half own their own homes. “When you look at the landscape in the way we support our veterans in the housing market, most of it happens on the margins of homelessness, or on the margin of homeownership,” report author Igor Popov tells CityLab, and writes in the report, “The veterans returning from war today are part of the first generation to not enjoy a housing affordability advantage."

For generations of veterans, getting help achieving the American dream of homeownership was a built-in benefit of military service. After World War II, GI Bills began providing educational and housing subsidies to veterans and their families; and government-backed Veterans’ Assistance loans (mostly to white vets) helped them easily secure mortgages. As a result, today, even as a housing crisis wracks the country—and as an estimated 40,000 homeless veterans go unsheltered each night—veterans are more likely to own their home than civilians.

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