How Northeast Florida buys homes has changed more than what those homes cost. We pulled every closed sale from realMLS back to 2001 and sorted them by how the buyer paid: FHA loan, VA loan, cash, or conventional loan. The mix has flipped twice in 25 years, and in 2026 it is telling a clear affordability story. Government-backed loans, the FHA and VA programs built around lower down payments, are back to about a third of all closings, near where they sat right after the 2008 crash.
The 25 year pattern
Back in the easy-credit years, government-backed loans nearly disappeared. In 2005, FHA covered just 2.5 percent of closed sales in the six county realMLS footprint and conventional loans carried almost 72 percent. When conventional credit froze in the 2008 to 2009 crash, that flipped hard: FHA jumped to 27.5 percent in 2009 and conventional fell to 28 percent, while cash buyers scooping up distressed homes pushed the all-cash share to a 41 percent peak by 2013.
The 2010s normalized. Cash receded as the foreclosure wave cleared, conventional loans recovered, and FHA settled into the low teens. Then the 2021 buying frenzy flipped it again from the other direction: with bidding wars everywhere, cash and conventional buyers won, and FHA got squeezed down to about 10 percent as sellers passed over offers that leaned on it.
What is happening now
Since 2022, the pendulum has swung back toward buyers who need help with the payment. FHA has recovered to about 16 percent of 2026 closings and VA has climbed to about 17 percent, its highest share in our 25 year record. Together, FHA and VA now make up roughly 33 percent of all closed sales, close to the post-2008 high. Conventional loans hold about 40 percent, and all-cash purchases, which spiked to about 30 percent in the 2021 rush, have cooled back to about 25 percent.
The reason is affordability. FHA and VA loans allow smaller down payments and more flexible terms, so their share tends to rise exactly when prices are high and rates are higher, which is where the market has been since 2022. As we covered when Northeast Florida home sales stopped falling in 2026, buyers came back this year through builder incentives and rate buydowns, and the financing mix shows the other half of that story: a lot of those buyers are stretching to get in, and low-down-payment loans are how they do it.
What it means if you are buying or selling
For buyers, the takeaway is that FHA and VA offers are no longer the underdog they were in 2021. One in three closings now uses one, so a well-documented FHA or VA offer is a normal, competitive way to buy, not a red flag. For sellers, it means a serious share of your buyer pool is payment-sensitive: pricing and any offer of concessions toward closing costs or a rate buydown can widen the field of buyers who can actually qualify. For the full local picture, see our Jacksonville housing market data hub.
How agents can use this data
With a buyer comparing loan options: a third of local closings now use FHA or VA financing, so these are mainstream, not fallback. Use the trend to reassure a first-time or lower-down-payment buyer that their offer competes in this market.
With an anchored buyer waiting on the sidelines: the rise in low-down-payment loans is a sign of how many buyers are already transacting despite high rates. The market is not waiting for a reset, it is adapting to the payment.
With a seller positioning a listing: a large share of the buyer pool is payment-sensitive. Pricing to current comps and considering a closing-cost credit or rate buydown can pull in the FHA and VA buyers who make up a third of closings.
On social or with press: the chart carries it. One line: VA loans just hit a 25 year high in Northeast Florida, and FHA and VA together are back to a third of home sales.
Keep it about homes, financing, and the market, never about who lives where. Cite the source line below if you quote the numbers, and never present them as guaranteed.
People also ask
What share of Northeast Florida home buyers use FHA or VA loans?
About a third. In the first half of 2026, FHA loans covered roughly 16 percent of closed home sales across Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, and Putnam counties and VA loans roughly 17 percent, about 33 percent combined, near the post-2008 high, per Momentum Research analysis of realMLS closings.
Are all-cash home purchases declining in Northeast Florida?
Cash has cooled from its recent spike. All-cash purchases reached about 30 percent of closings in the 2021 buying frenzy and have eased to about 25 percent in 2026, still well above the roughly 12 percent common in the mid-2000s, per realMLS closing records.
Why do FHA and VA loans rise when mortgage rates are high?
FHA and VA loans allow lower down payments and more flexible terms, so they tend to gain share when affordability is stretched. Their share jumped after the 2008 crash and has climbed again since 2022 as higher prices and rates pushed more buyers toward low-down-payment options, per Momentum Research analysis of realMLS data.
The takeaway
Prices get the headlines, but how people pay is its own signal. After nearly vanishing in the easy-credit 2000s and getting squeezed out in the 2021 frenzy, government-backed FHA and VA loans are back to about a third of Northeast Florida closings, with VA at a 25 year high, while all-cash buying has cooled to a quarter. It is a market where more buyers are leaning on low-down-payment loans to get in, which is exactly what you would expect when prices sit near a high and rates stay elevated. For a fuller picture, see our look at the disappearing starter home. Data reflects closed sales in the realMLS footprint and is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. This is general information, not investment advice.
Momentum Research. Equal Housing Opportunity.
This article was compiled with the help of automated tools from realMLS closing records and may contain errors. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. It is for general information only and is not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Verify all facts independently before relying on them. Source: Momentum Research analysis of realMLS closed sales, Duval, St. Johns, Clay, Nassau, Baker, and Putnam counties, buyer financing on closings, 2001 to 2026.