A home bought with an FHA or VA loan a few years ago may come with something a buyer can take over: the seller's loan, as it stands. Listings that offer one say so, sometimes in capital letters. We wanted to know how many actually do, so on October 22, 2026 we read every listing on the market in the MLS of Southern Arizona.
How we counted
The MLS had 9,110 listings on the market that day that it allows to be shown online: homes, land and multi-family properties, active or under contract. A listing counted if its financing terms include “Assumption”, a value the agent can pick, or if its own description said the seller's loan could be assumed. 136 listings had the financing term, and 154 said it in the description.
Reading descriptions takes care. 169 used a form of the word “assume” that day, and 15 of them were about something else: leased solar panels a buyer would take over, an HOA assessment, a lot that would not be split. Those are not counted. Where a description named the loan we recorded it as VA or FHA. “Open to VA and non-VA buyers” describes a buyer, not the loan, so those count as type not stated.
The numbers
| Listings | Count |
|---|---|
| On the market | 9,110 |
| Say the loan can be assumed, either way | 196 |
| Financing terms include “Assumption” | 136 |
| Description says so | 154 |
| Financing terms only | 42 |
| Description names a VA loan | 94 |
| Description names an FHA loan | 15 |
| Description doesn't name the loan type | 45 |
That is about 2% of the market. Of the descriptions that named a loan type, 94 of 109 named a VA loan. All 154 descriptions were on residential listings.
Where they are
| Mailing city | Listings |
|---|---|
| Tucson | 74 |
| Vail | 23 |
| Sahuarita | 19 |
| Marana | 18 |
| Green Valley | 5 |
| Oro Valley | 3 |
| Elsewhere | 12 |
These are the descriptions that said so. The mailing city is the postal city the MLS records, so “Tucson” covers a large part of the metro area beyond the city limits.
What we leave out on purpose
119 of the 154 descriptions quote the interest rate on the seller's loan in the same sentence, and a few quote a payment. We don't repeat them, here or on our listing pages. A rate or payment in an advertisement carries federal disclosure rules, the figure is the listing agent's statement rather than the servicer's, and what decides an assumption is whether the buyer qualifies and what the servicer confirms. The listing's own page shows its description as the agent wrote it.
What it means if you are buying
A loan you can take over is worth asking about, but it is only part of the price. You pay the seller's equity, the price less the loan balance, at closing, and the servicer has to approve you. Our VA loan assumption guide and FHA loan assumption guide list every home whose listing says so, rebuilt every night from the MLS, with the rules and costs for each. If you are not a veteran, a VA loan can still be assumed: see Can a Non-Veteran Assume a VA Loan?.
What it means if you are selling
If your FHA or VA loan can be assumed and only 2% of listings say so, saying it in your listing sets your home apart. Ask your servicer first, and if it is a VA loan, read up on what an assumption does to your entitlement: Selling With an Assumable VA Loan in Tucson covers it.
