As the spring homebuying market heads into full swing and more sellers begin to enter the market, Veterans and service members are moving up their homebuying timelines, according to the Veteran Homebuying Report, a quarterly national survey of prospective homebuyers, released today by Veterans United Home Loans, the nation's largest provider of VA loans. Though concerns about finding a home and high home prices persist, respondents were more optimistic about the economy and their own financial outlook.

The online survey of more than 600 Veterans and service members conducted between March 1-15 found 42% of buyers plan to purchase in the next six months, up 15 percentage points from a year ago. Among would-be buyers overall, 71% plan to buy in the next 12 months, up slightly from last quarter.

According to the survey, nearly a third (31%) of buyers are willing to increase their budget to get the home they desire, compared to 24% last quarter. Sellers continue to be optimistic about getting the sale price they are after and whether now is a good time to sell at 69% and 77%, respectively. At the same time, an increasing number of sellers (31%) expressed concern about getting top dollar for their home because of high interest rates, up from 25% three months ago.

"Buyers are starting to come to terms with the current environment. Rather than waiting for interest rates to drop, they are more focused on being able to get the house that they want and whether they can make the monthly payment work," said Chris Birk, vice president of mortgage insight at Veterans United. "Sellers, a majority of whom will also be buyers, are optimistic about getting the price they want, but realize their money won't go far when purchasing their next home."