W-5 BAH in the Norfolk MHA (2026)
Official 2026 BAH for W-5 with dependents in the Norfolk/Portsmouth Military Housing Area (VA298). Plus the max VA-loan home price this rate supports and the Hampton Roads neighborhoods that actually fit.
2026 BAH (with deps)
$3,000
per month
Max VA-loan home
~$480,000
$0 down, 30-yr
MHA
VA298
Norfolk / Southside
Without dependents: $2,616/mo. Source: DTMO BAH Calculator, ZIP 23511.
The W-5 with-dependents rate of $3,000/mo applies uniformly across all VA298 Hampton Roads installations: Naval Station Norfolk, NAS Oceana, JEB Little Creek-Fort Story, NMC Portsmouth, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Coast Guard Base Portsmouth, NSA Hampton Roads, and Dam Neck Annex.
Stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis or NWS Yorktown? You’re in the Peninsula MHA (VA297), where rates run $108–$225/mo lower at most paygrades. Use the full calculator for that rate.
Who this rate fits
CW5 — top of warrant officer scale, rare and senior.
At $3,000/mo, a W-5 with dependents can comfortably support a home around ~$480,000 with a 0% down VA loan. Most W-5 buyers we work with target homes 10–15% under that ceiling to keep BAH covering PITI plus an emergency margin — pick essentially any Hampton Roads neighborhood at this rate.
Max home price assumes 30-year fixed VA loan, current 2026 rates, no other significant debt, and BAH covering 100% of principal + interest + taxes + insurance. Actual approval depends on credit, debt-to-income, and lender overlays.
Find a home that fits your W-5 BAH
Three ways to start, depending on where you are in the process:
Ready to get pre-approved at $3,000/mo?
Tom & Dariya can connect you with a Hampton Roads VA-specialist lender and send a curated home list inside 24 hours.
Sources: DTMO BAH Calculator (rates verbatim, captured 2026-04-30); VA Home Loans; REIN MLS for Hampton Roads inventory.
About the Hampton Roads Real Estate Market
Hampton Roads is one of the most dynamic real estate markets on the East Coast, anchored by the largest naval complex in the world at Naval Station Norfolk and home to roughly 120,000 active-duty, reserve, and civilian Department of Defense personnel. The region spans seven cities — Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, and Newport News — plus the Peninsula communities of Williamsburg, Yorktown, and Poquoson, with each market carrying its own personality, school district, and price profile.
Buying or selling here means thinking about more than just a house. Tidewater geography means flood zones, hurricane preparation, and waterfront premiums matter. Military presence means BAH affordability, PCS season inventory crunches (May through August), and VA loan eligibility are top of mind for a meaningful share of every neighborhood. School quality varies block by block, especially across the seven independent city school divisions, and is often the deciding factor for relocating families.
Why Buyers and Sellers Choose VaHome
The VaHome Team — Tom and Dariya Milan with LPT Realty — focuses on the Hampton Roads region with deep expertise in military relocation, VA financing, and the trade-offs that local buyers actually face. From listing strategy that gets your home in front of the right relocating buyer to buyer representation that respects your BAH cap and PCS timeline, the team treats every transaction as a long-term relationship. The site is built to make decisions clearer: BAH-aware search, drive-time mapping to every major installation, neighborhood guides written by people who live here, and a calculator that shows real monthly cost — taxes, insurance, HOA, and PMI included — instead of a teaser headline number.
Plan Your Next Move
Whether you are buying your first home with a VA loan, moving up while your kids transition between school districts, or selling a Hampton Roads property to relocate to your next duty station, the resources on this site are organized around the questions you are actually asking. Browse listings filtered by base proximity, paygrade-aware BAH cap, and commute time. Read neighborhood guides for Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, and the Peninsula communities. Use the mortgage calculator to compare conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and jumbo loan scenarios side by side. When you are ready to talk, the contact form goes directly to a specialist who knows the area, the lenders, and the timing.