Real estate market in Virginia is among the top 15 local markets in the state of Virginia. In this city, homes are selling within just 3 days or even less after being put on the market. This means that homebuyers should be prepared to move quickly. The current inventory in the Virginia Beach market is only about 6 weeks, meaning that this city lacks supply.
However, homebuyers may have an opportunity to buy homes for sale in Virginia Beach in 2022. According to a report from 13 News Now, the number of listings in this city is starting to increase slightly, though the median selling price continues to increase as well. Let’s take a look back at 2020. After a sharp decline, the real estate market in Virginia strongly rebounded in the spring of 2020.
Strong demands, the trend of working from home, and low mortgage rates continued to fuel the hot real estate market in 2021. It is predicted that sales activity will decrease in 2022, mainly as a result of prolonged low inventories, increased affordability concerns, and a significant rise in mortgage rates.
A Glimpse of Virginia Beach
Famous for its amazing beaches, Virginia Beach is a paradise for those who look for the summer sun to sunbathe and enjoy beaches. With the word beach in its name, you know what you can expect from this city. With sandy Atlantic beaches and a lot of outdoor activities, Virginia Beach is one of the primary tourist destinations in the United States.
Though it has been known as the Redneck Riviera, Virginia Beach has been working hard to leave its past reputation behind. It is now cleaner and more aware of the environment than ever before. The popular beaches in this city include Chesapeake Bay Beach, Virginia Beach Boardwalk and Resort Beach, and Sandbridge Beach.
Besides beautiful beaches, Virginia Beach also has other tourist spots that you can visit. For example, Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Centre, The Adventure Park, Cape Henry Lighthouse, and False Cape State Park. Virginia Beach is located in the south-eastern corner of Virginia and along the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay.
Thanks to the location, Virginia Beach has miles of beautiful beaches, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. Though it has a suburban small-town feel, Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the state of Virginia. The balanced economy in this city includes defence contractors, advanced manufacturing, small locally owned businesses, and national and international company headquarters.
Virginia Beach Real Estate Market Overview
According to WalletHub, Virginia Beach is the number one metro area where houses sold the quickest compared to a year ago, with Alexandria in the northern part of Virginia following at the second place. Referring to Virginia Realtors, the median change in housing prices Virginia Beach went up by 8.3 percent year-over-year. While the number of sales transactions declined by 13.9 percent over the same period of time.
In April 2022, the statewide average house cost in Virginia was $390,000, which is an increase of $100,000 from April 2018. The median sales price in Virginia has gone up by more than 9 percent or $32,500 compared to this time last year. The current increase in mortgage rates and slowdown in sales activities do not affect the consistently upward trends of home prices.
However, the rate of price growth in this state could change in the upcoming months. The good quality of life, relative affordability, and activities in real estate Virginia Beach are 3 main reasons why the city is also among the best places to rent in the United States, according to WalletHub.
- Zillow Home Value Index for Virginia Beach is $372,390 through May 2022.
- Home values in Virginia Beach rose 14.1 percent over the past year and more than 40 percent over the past 5 years.
- The average house price in Virginia Beach is $339,300 based on the most recent report from Realtor.com.
- Virginia Beach homes for sale spend averagely 63 days in the market from listing to getting sold.
- Of the 85 neighbourhoods in Virginia Beach, the most affordable one to buy a home is London Bridge with a median listing price of $232,000. While the most expensive neighbourhood is North Virginia Beach where the median listing price is $9393,000.
Virginia Beach Real Estate Market Trends
Virginia Beach real estate market continued to cool in the first quarter of 2022, according to a report published by the Hampton Roads Realtors Association. Home sales in this city decreased for the 3rd consecutive quarter. There were 1,750 sales in the first quarter, which declined 14 percent from the last year, which is 278 fewer sales. However, sales are 8 percent higher in Virginia Beach compared to 2 years ago.
During the first quarter, the average sales price in the city of Virginia Beach was $326,050, which is an increase of almost $30,000 or 10 percent from last year. The average home sales price in Virginia Beach is now over $53,000 higher than a year ago. Regardless of the higher price, a steep decline in sales caused a lower sales volume in the city compared to last year.
The sales volume in the first quarter of 2022 in Virginia Beach was around $692.8 million. This number is approximately $27.8 million less than the first quarter of 2021, down by 4 percent. During the first quarter, homes in Virginia Beach sold averagely within 23 days. On average, homes sold a week quicker than they did at this time last year and more than 3 weeks quicker than the first quarter of 2020.
The supply in Virginia Beach housing market continued to decrease. There were 723 active listings at the end of the first quarter, which is a decline of 13 percent or 112 fewer active listings from the same time in 2021.
Virginia Beach Real Estate Market Forecast
If you are a real estate investor or homebuyer, you may find various opinions about investing in Virginia Beach. It perhaps does not have a hype or good track record for real estate investment. But this city has a good variety of housing available for investors, including rental apartments, condos, and single-family homes. Tourism results in several main beachfront locations being used as vacation rentals with a great return.
The housing appreciation rate in Virginia Beach has mainly been below the national average for the past decade. The median annual home appreciation rate in this city during the period has been just 3.87 percent. This percentage is lower than 70 percent of the communities in the United States, based on data from NeighborhoodScout.
The appreciation rate in Virginia Beach was left behind the national average over the past year. In 2021, the appreciation rate was 16.80 percent, which is lower than the rate in most US communities. The latest quarter’s home appreciation rate in Virginia Beach was 6.50 percent, which equates to a 28.65 percent annual appreciation rate.
If this forecast is right, home prices in Virginia Beach are projected to be higher in the first quarter of 2023 than the first quarter of 2022. If you want to invest in Virginia Beach real estate, there are some of the city’s best neighbourhoods you can consider, as they have the highest real estate appreciation rate since 2000. These neighbourhoods are:
- Arrowhead
- Ocean Lakes
- Linkhorn Park or Bay Colony
- Magic Hollow or Gatewood Park
- Ashville Park
- Point O Woods
- Kempsville
- Shadow Lawn or Salt Marsh Point
- Fort Story
- North Virginia Beach
Population Growth in Virginia Beach
Virginia Beach is the second most populated locality in Virginia. According to the latest census, this city has been adding more than 21,000 new residents since 2010. The city’s population growth has been historically steady and slow, relatively flat in 2018 and growing by around 2 percent back in 2019. Real estate investors who look for long-term, predictable market performance may find Virginia Beach a good place for a buy-and-hold investment strategy.
- Virginia Beach is home to almost 1.8 million people in the metro area as well as more than 459,000 residents in the city.
- According to the US Census Bureau, Virginia Beach is the second most populated locality in Virginia state, just right behind Prince William County.
- The population of this city increased by 2.08 percent in 2019 and by 4.9 percent since 2010.
- Unemployment in Virginia Beach declines to 3.4 percent as of May 2022 while the job growth is up by 1.7 percent year-over-year.
- Metro Virginia Beach includes Suffolk, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Newport News, Hampton, cities of Chesapeake, and the Hampton Roads metropolitan area.
Job Market in Virginia Beach
Referring to Virginia Beach Economic Development, the city is an extremely desirable place for high-tech employees, mostly because of an employer-friendly state as well as a right to work labour structure. Over the previous year, the employed population of the Virginia Beach metro area rose by 2.7 percent while the household income increased by almost 5.7 percent.
The unemployment rate in Virginia Beach continues to steadily decrease, showing a strong economy. The total employment exceeded 4 million jobs as of February 2022. This is the first time that milestone has been reached since March 2020. Over the last 12 months, around 111,900 jobs were added. According to the BLS, the unemployment in the city declines to 3.4 percent as of May 2022.
As the economy continues to recover, there are many employment sectors in Virginia Beach that show quickest signs of new growth. These sectors include leisure and hospitality, business and professional services, transportation, and trade. The total number of jobs in the state of Virginia now is just 2 percent below where it was before the covid-19 pandemic.
The unemployment rate is a key indicator of a strengthening economy. This rate in Virginia was 2.9 percent as of February, which declined from 3.4 percent in January. Moreover, this is the lowest unemployment rate since March 2020. Here are some stats about the job market in Virginia Beach.
- The job growth in Virginia Beach was 1.7 percent over the previous year, which is from May 2021 to May 2022. While the median household income was up by 5.7 percent in 2019.
- The per capita income in the Virginia Beach metro area is $35,927 while the median household income is $68,454.
- Forbes ranks Virginia Beach the 79th best place for careers and business in the nation.
- Main industries in this city include data centres, logistics, maritime, biomedical, professional services, information services, advanced manufacturing, and defence.
- Major universities and colleges in Virginia Beach include Regent University, College of William & Mary, and Old Dominion University.
- According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the GDP of Virginia Beach MSA is more than $96.3 billion. It has risen by almost 17 percent over the last decade.
Life Quality in Virginia Beach
WalletHub ranks Virginia Beach as the number one best large city to live in. With an overall great affordability, Virginia Beach is ahead of other popular cities with good quality as well, such as San Diego, Seattle, and Austin.
- According to Forbes, the living cost in Virginia Beach is 4 percent below the national average.
- US News & World Report highly ranks Virginia Beach as the best place to retire as well as among the best places to live in the United States.
- According to Virginia Beach Economic Development, more people move to this city for its vibrant cultural and outdoor amenities, as well as job opportunities. This continues to drive housing demands in the region.
- Virginia Beach is home to more than 38 miles of beach, and more than 7,000 acres of forests, fields, rivers, and wetlands.
- The city is just a few hours drive from Washington DC, Philadelphia, NYC, and Raleigh.
Virginia Beach Real Estate Market FAQs
- Are homes for sale in Virginia Beach Affordable?
Though home prices continue to rise, you can still find homes for less than half a million in Virginia Beach.
- Is Virginia Landlord Friendly?
Yes, Virginia is a landlord friendly state. It allows landlords to serve an unconditional quit notice to renters who violate the lease contract.