Selling a Home in Virginia Beach › Home worth and assessed value
What your Virginia Beach home is worth when you sell.
Your city assessment is not a price. Here is how assessed value and market value differ, how your district and neighborhood are trending, and what to do if you think your assessment is wrong.
The short answer
The assessed value is the city’s yearly estimate of your home’s value, used to set your real estate tax. It is not an appraisal and not a listing price. Buyers pay what comparable homes are selling for now, so price from recent sales in your neighborhood and use the assessment only as background.
Four numbers, four jobs
Assessed, market, appraised and list price.
| Number | Who sets it | What it is for | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assessed value | The city’s Real Estate Assessor | Your real estate tax bill | Once a year, as of January 1 |
| Market value | Buyers and sellers, through sales | What a home actually sells for | Changes with each sale |
| Appraised value | A lender’s appraiser | The loan amount on a purchase | During the contract period |
| List price | You, with your agent | Where negotiation starts | When you list |
Virginia assesses real estate at fair market value. The Real Estate Assessor values every property in the city once a year, as of January 1.
The current numbers
Where Virginia Beach stands right now.
Citywide median appreciation for residential property in the FY 2027 assessment, as of January 1, 2026.
Median assessed value of a single-family home, January 2026.
Median sale price of a detached home in September 2026, with 1.4 months of supply.
Assessments are a January 1 snapshot, so they reflect the market as it stood then. Sales happen all year, so the market can move before the next assessment catches up. The two medians above also describe different sets of homes (the sale median leaves out waterfront and new construction), so do not divide one by the other to guess a price.
The pace is slowing. The city’s median change was 10.80% for FY 2023 and 9.04% for FY 2024, then 6.61%, 4.95% and 5.23% in the three years since.
Sources: Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor, FY 2027 Annual Report; Domus market data for September 2026 (detached homes, excluding waterfront and new construction).
Neighborhood lookup
How is your neighborhood trending?
About these figures. They come from the City of Virginia Beach’s FY 2027 residential neighborhood assessment report (values as of January 1, 2026; data checked October 2026). They show changes in assessed value, not changes in sale prices, and the median is for the whole neighborhood, not any one home.
What this tells you: how the city’s assessment changed across the neighborhood.
What it doesn’t: what your home would sell for.
Next: compare recent closed sales of homes like yours. Request a free CMA →
Neighborhood names follow the assessor’s coding, so a short word works best. A neighborhood may include townhouses or condos tracked on their own lines. Source: Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor.
Then four steps.
- Pull your property record. Search your address on the Real Estate Assessor’s site and check the details: bedrooms, baths, square footage and any finished space. A wrong detail can change the assessment.
- Note your neighborhood’s change. Use the lookup above, and compare it with your district in the table below.
- Compare with recent sales. Look at homes that sold on your street or in your subdivision in the last several months. Sales, not assessments, show what buyers are paying.
- Ask for a market analysis. A comparative market analysis from an agent adjusts those sales for your home’s size, condition and updates. Use the contact section below.
By district
Ten districts, hundreds of neighborhoods.
The city assessor sorts Virginia Beach into 10 districts, D01 through D10, and tracks 658 residential neighborhoods inside them. A neighborhood that crosses a district line is reported under the district that holds most of its parcels. Citywide appreciation hides a wide spread: for FY 2027, 28 neighborhoods saw their average assessment fall, and 90 rose 10% or more.
Select a district to filter the neighborhood lookup above.
| District | Largest neighborhoods | Total assessed | Change | Neighborhood range | Lookup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brigadoon/Pines/Country Haven, Salem Woods, Indian Lakes SF (2) | $7.07B | +5.04% | −3.3% to +13.4% | ||
| Pungo, Sandbridge, Courthouse Estates | $11.78B | +7.77% | −6.0% to +23.8% | ||
| Princess Anne Plaza, Windsor Woods/Oaks West, Kempsville Lake | $7.58B | +5.81% | −5.5% to +20.9% | ||
| Lake Edward, Campus East Townhomes, Newpointe Condo | $7.05B | +4.74% | −0.4% to +26.9% | ||
| Ocean Lakes/Culver Acres, Shadow Lawn SF, Ocean Lakes TH | $9.80B | +8.05% | −2.6% to +32.6% | ||
| North Virginia Beach West, North Virginia Beach East, Baycliff/Alanton | $15.69B | +6.65% | −3.3% to +25.5% | ||
| Glenwood, Charlestown Lakes, Rosemont Forest | $6.28B | +5.42% | +0.1% to +13.8% | ||
| Kings Grant Sec 1-2-3, Little Neck, Birchwood/Birchwood Gardens | $12.44B | +7.29% | −0.1% to +20.0% | ||
| Aragona Village, Lakeview Park/Shores/Terrace, Pembroke Manor/Meadows | $9.09B | +6.42% | −3.7% to +14.4% | ||
| Green Run SF, Green Run TH, Chimney Hill | $5.55B | +4.71% | +0.2% to +25.1% |
District totals and changes are for all taxable property, January 1, 2025 to January 1, 2026. The three largest neighborhoods are ranked by parcel count as the assessor lists them, so SF and townhouse sections of one community can appear separately. The range shows the lowest and highest average change among the residential neighborhoods in each district. Source: Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor, FY 2027 Annual Report and FY 2026/2027 neighborhood report.
What’s in the housing stock
Most Virginia Beach homes are assessed between $250,000 and $499,000.
About 57% of the city’s homes fall in that range, according to the assessor. Where your home sits in the distribution matters, because the bands moved differently: homes under $150,000 had a median increase of 2.61%, those between $250,000 and $499,999 about 5%, and homes at $750,000 or more 6.89%.
Share of residential parcels by assessed value, January 1, 2026. Derived from the assessor’s cumulative percentages, so bands may not sum to exactly 100%.
| Home type | Homes | Median assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Single-family | 99,746 | $432,800 |
| Townhouse | 19,764 | $251,900 |
| Low-rise condo | 22,417 | $323,900 |
| High-rise condo/co-op | 3,098 | $446,300 |
| Duplex or home with ADU | 1,243 | $579,200 |
Age shows up in value too. The largest group of homes was built in the 1980s (about 46,900, median assessment $341,700). Homes built since 2020 have a median of $708,200.
Online estimates
What about the Zestimate and other online values?
Sites like Zillow, Redfin and Realtor.com publish automated valuation models, or AVMs. An AVM estimates value from public records, past sales and listing data, with no one walking through the home.
What they miss. They cannot see your kitchen update, your roof age, a water view, a busy road or deferred maintenance. They also depend on the data behind them, so a wrong square footage in the public record flows into the estimate. In a neighborhood with few recent sales, the estimate rests on thin evidence.
How to use one. Treat it as a rough starting range, the same way you treat the assessment. Companies publish a median error, which means half of their estimates miss by more than that, and individual homes can miss by far more. A comparative market analysis from a local agent uses sold homes that match yours and is the better basis for a price.
When you list
How the assessment shows up in a sale.
Buyers will see it. Listing sites show the assessed value and the tax bill, and some buyers treat the assessment as a reference point. Be ready to explain why your price is above or below it, using recent sales.
It does not set your price. An assessment is neither a floor nor a ceiling. Lenders order their own appraisal, and appraisers value the home from recent comparable sales.
Taxes still matter. The assessed value drives the annual tax bill a buyer will pay. The city’s FY 2027 report uses a rate of $0.97 per $100 of assessed value, so each $100,000 of assessed value is roughly $970 a year. Confirm the current rate with the city.
If you think it is wrong
How an assessment appeal works.
Reassessment notices go out by March 1 each year. If you disagree, you can file a Request for Reappraisal with the Assessor by April 30. An appraiser contacts you, usually asks to inspect the home inside and out, and the City Assessor makes the final determination in writing. If you still disagree, the next step is an appeal to the Board of Equalization, which takes applications until June 30.
A valid appeal rests on one of three things: the home is valued above market, the assessment is not uniform with similar properties, or there is a factual error in the home’s details. A higher number than last year is not enough. The best evidence is comparable sales and assessments from the right calendar year. Taxes are due on time while an appeal is pending.
If you are selling: an appeal changes your tax bill, not the price a buyer pays. Fix factual errors, but put your effort into pricing from comparable sales.
Dates and steps from the Virginia Beach Real Estate Assessor’s appeal pages. Confirm current deadlines with the city: (757) 385-4601.
Go deeper
More on values, neighborhoods and taxes.
Questions
Home value and assessments: common questions.
Is my assessed value what my home is worth?
Not necessarily. The assessment is the city’s estimate of your home’s value as of January 1, used to calculate your real estate tax. What buyers will pay depends on current sales, your home’s condition and your timing. Use sold comparables to price, not the assessment.
Why is my assessment different from what similar homes sell for?
The city values every property once a year, as of a single date, using mass appraisal. A sale reflects one buyer, one home and one day. In a market that moves, the two can sit apart in either direction. The gap does not mean either number is wrong.
How accurate are online home value estimates like the Zestimate?
They are automated valuation models (AVMs) that estimate value from public records and past sales. They cannot see your condition, updates or lot. Companies publish a median error, which means half of their estimates miss by more than that. Treat an AVM as a rough starting point and check it against recent sold comparables.
Should I appeal my assessment before I sell?
An appeal changes your tax bill, not what a buyer will pay. Requests for reappraisal are due by April 30, so the timing may not match your sale. If you are selling soon, comparable sales matter more. If you find a factual error, such as the wrong square footage, it is worth correcting.
Will buyers or the lender’s appraiser use my assessed value?
Buyers often see the assessment on listing sites, and some anchor on it. A lender’s appraiser values the home from recent comparable sales, not from the city’s assessment, so the appraisal can come in above or below it.
How do I see how my neighborhood is trending?
Use the neighborhood lookup on this page. It shows the average FY 2027 assessment change for each residential neighborhood the city tracks. Then compare it with recent sales on your street or in your subdivision, which your agent can pull.
General information, not legal, tax or appraisal advice. Last reviewed October 16, 2026. A comparative market analysis is not an appraisal.
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