Va. Beach property values are up again
City’s real estate assessments to top $82 billion
VIRGINIA BEACH — Real estate assessments will be mailed to property owners today, and most residents can expect the value of their home to be higher than last year.
Fiscal year 2025 assessments in Virginia Beach are going to top $82 billion, a 7.37% jump from the previous year, which includes both growth (.5%) and appreciation (6.8%), said Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor Sue Cunningham, who briefed the City Council on the figures Tuesday.
Under the current rate of 99 cents per $100 of assessed value, the amount will generate roughly $812 million in real estate tax revenue. Every penny generates $8.2 million in revenue. At a budget retreat in mid-February, the City Council discussed lowering the tax rate, possibly by 2 cents, which would cut city revenue by roughly $16 million.
No decision has been made, and even with the cuts most residents would still see an increase in their tax bill because the cuts under consideration would not completely offset the growth in assessments. Last year, assessments increased by 9%.
The city has roughly 163,000 assessed parcels, including more than 3,700 that are exempt from real estate taxes. Residential makes up the most of the city’s real estate inventory at 86%. Single family homes comprise the bulk of it at 60%, or $50 billion of the assessed value.
Cunningham’s team assesses both residential and commercial properties annually by analyzing sales, business activity, income and expense reports and rent rolls.
Of the city’s 10 districts, District 6, which includes about half of the resort area and the North End, had the highest total assessed value at $13.8 billion.
Hotels comprise only 2% of the city’s real estate values, but hotel assessments increased the most, by 15.7%, or $1.7 billion. The commercial figures are derived from 2022 income and expense data, and the average daily room rate spiked that year, Cunningham said.
Not all commercial properties values are growing at the same pace. Offices had the smallest change in assessed value at .1%.
“Offices are continuing to struggle a little bit,” said Cunningham. “They haven’t recovered yet from the pandemic.”
Similar to last year, high dollar properties and those below $200,000 saw the greatest change in assessed value.
Investors bought lower valued homes — which are mostly condominiums and townhouses — and renovated and sold them within a short time frame, Cunningham said.
Older and newer properties in the city have the highest mean assessed values of roughly $700,000. The older ones, built before 1950, are often near the ocean or bays and have been updated.
The median home assessment continues to increase year over year and has reached $347,700. Home sales were down due to limited inventory and high interest rates, said the assessor.
After the pandemic and supply chain issues hindered new construction for a couple of years, it’s growing again. Of the $440 million of new construction in calendar year 2023, apartments units comprised $142 million.
New houses with the highest assessed value were built in Sandbridge and North Virginia Beach.
The city forgoes more than $30 million in real estate tax revenue each year through exemption programs.
Reduction/credit programs are available for historic rehabilitation projects, energy efficient buildings and agricultural uses. Exemptions are also available for qualifying senior citizens and people with disabilities as well as disabled veterans and spouses of members of the armed forces and emergency service providers killed in the line of duty.