One of the Few Installations With a Housing Market Named After It
Program and regulatory figures verified October 10, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
This is a PCS market more than a settle-down market, and almost every decision here turns on how long you expect to be at the post.
The numbers
| Measure | Fort Leonard Wood |
|---|---|
| Typical home value, Aug 2026 | $233,313 |
| Year on year | +5.0% |
| VA one-unit limit | $832,750 |
| Price as share of the limit | about 28% |
| Nearest larger metro in the file | Rolla, $235,139, +5.5% |
★ Rolla is a near-twin on price and slightly faster, and the two are close enough that anyone buying here should price both. All 25 metros.
★★★ Why a metro named after the post is worth noting
Most installations do not get one. When we built the Ohio companion site, Wright-Patterson's market, the Dayton area, had no row at all in this same national file, so we published no figure for it.
★★★ Here the statistical area is the post and its surroundings, so the $233,313 figure is unusually well matched to the question a soldier is actually asking. That is rare, and it is the reason this page can carry a number where the Ohio equivalent could not.
★★ What it is not: a figure about the installation. We publish no personnel count and no economic-impact figure for Fort Leonard Wood or any other base, because every military host is closed to crawlers and we read none at a primary source.
★★ The PCS question, which decides most of this
A zero-down purchase has no equity in it on day one. If you are reassigned in two or three years, you are selling a house you have barely paid down, out of a market that moved 5.0% over the last year rather than dramatically.
★★ We will say the unwelcome half of that plainly: a short expected tour is a real argument against buying, and we would rather tell you before you are under contract. It is not a reason not to buy, 5.0% annual appreciation on a $233,313 house is not nothing, but it belongs in the decision.
★ If you do buy and then move, the entitlement question follows you. Remaining versus full entitlement.
★★ The fee question, and why Missouri prices make it actionable
Subsequent VA use is 3.3% under 5% down and 1.5% at 5% or more.
★★ Five percent of $233,313 is a sum a mid-career service member can plausibly assemble, and it more than halves the fee. In an expensive duty station the same percentage is simply out of reach. ★ And if you hold a compensable service-connected rating, the fee is not reduced at all. It is not charged. The five exemptions, including the memorandum-rating timing.
★★ The Missouri tax position, which will disappoint some readers
There is no Missouri property-tax exemption for a 100%-rated veteran unless you are also a former prisoner of war. Mo. Const. art. X, § 6 requires both.
★★ What is available instead is the Missouri Property Tax Credit, income-tested and capped at $1,550 of tax from 2026, with no age requirement on the veteran route, which matters a great deal at a training post full of people in their twenties and thirties. How to claim it · Why the exemption you read about is a bill.
★ The good news at closing: Missouri is constitutionally barred from imposing a new transfer tax. The provision.
Mike Certo, NMLS #260555. (480) 296-6513 · mcerto@cfmtg.com. We are a lender and not affiliated with the VA, the Army or any government agency.
Frequently asked questions
What do homes cost near Fort Leonard Wood?
The Fort Leonard Wood metro had a typical home value of $233,313 as of August 2026, up 5.0 percent year on year. Neighbouring Rolla was $235,139, up 5.5 percent. These are metro figures from the Zillow Home Value Index, not installation figures.What is the VA loan limit near Fort Leonard Wood?
Pulaski County carries the standard Missouri one-unit limit of $832,750 for 2026, as do all 115 Missouri jurisdictions. With full entitlement the VA states there is no loan limit at all.Should I buy near Fort Leonard Wood if I might PCS in two years?
It deserves careful thought. A zero-down VA purchase has no equity on day one, so a short tour means selling a house you have barely paid down out of a market that rose 5.0 percent over the last year. That is a real argument against buying on a short expected tour, though it is a judgement rather than a rule.Do disabled veterans at Fort Leonard Wood get a Missouri property tax exemption?
Only former prisoners of war with a total service-connected disability, under article X section 6 of the Missouri Constitution. Other disabled veterans should look at the Missouri Property Tax Credit, which has no age requirement on its veteran route.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about VA home loan financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax or financial advice. Cornerstone First Mortgage is a private lender and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA entitlement, funding-fee exemption and disability ratings are determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Missouri's property tax exemption for former prisoners of war is established by article X, section 6 of the Missouri Constitution, and the Missouri Property Tax Credit is governed by sections 135.010 to 135.030 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri and administered by the Missouri Department of Revenue, not by Cornerstone. Proposed constitutional amendments described on this site are proposals and are not law. Figures here carry the date we verified them against primary sources. All loans are subject to borrower, property and program qualification.