No More New Year's Resolution

# Is 2026 a Good Time to Sell a Multifamily Property in Hampton Roads? For most owners in Hampton Roads, yes — the market fundamentals are among the strongest in the Mid-Atlantic right now, and that's showing up directly in transaction activity. The caveat is that buyers are still selective about condition and vacancy, so "good time to sell" doesn't mean every asset commands a premium. ## Why this market is outperforming right now Hampton Roads closed the first half of 2026 with vacancy at just 5.0% — well below the market's 5.9% historical average and the 8.1% national rate — while asking rents grew 5.7% over the past year, more than five times the 0.7% national pace. That combination of tight occupancy and real rent growth is exactly what buyers underwrite aggressively, and it's why the region is drawing capital that previously overlooked it in favor of larger coastal markets. ## What's working in sellers' favor right now - **Transaction volume has bounced back strongly.** Over the past 12 months, 66 properties totaling 6,328 units traded for $1.1 billion — activity that held up despite a higher-rate environment, with buyers still competing for well-located, quality assets. - **Supply is no longer a threat.** Only 3,317 units are currently under construction, just 2.6% of existing inventory, in line with the national rate and a sharp pullback from the pandemic-era construction peak. Less new competition for your tenants means less downward pressure on pricing. - **Rent growth is broad-based, not just concentrated at the top.** Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Hampton, and Williamsburg have all posted strong annual rent gains, meaning the growth story isn't limited to a handful of luxury submarkets — it supports pricing across asset classes. ## What still separates a good sale from a great one - **Cap rates still span a wide range.** Completed deals over the past year ranged from 2.4% to 9.4%, with a median of 5.5% — condition and vacancy at sale drove most of that spread. Newer 2024-built assets like Allure at Edinburgh and District 757 traded above $300,000 per unit, while older, higher-vacancy properties traded closer to $100,000-$120,000 per unit. - **Submarket matters more than the regional average.** Newport News currently carries one of the region's higher vacancy rates as recent deliveries move through lease-up, while Hampton and Suffolk have also softened somewhat relative to the broader market. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake continue to draw the most investor capital. - **A higher-vacancy asset can still trade — just not at the market cap rate.** The comp set includes a 100-unit, 1975-built property that sold at a 14.0% vacancy for $100,000/unit, alongside fully-leased newer product trading at a premium. Buyers are pricing risk into the number, not walking away from it. ## The takeaway Hampton Roads' fundamentals — tight vacancy, real rent growth, and a construction pipeline that's pulled back hard — make 2026 a genuinely strong window to sell, especially for well-maintained, well-leased assets. The market will still discount for deferred maintenance or high vacancy, so the real question isn't "is now good," it's "what condition is my property in relative to this year's actual closed comps." ## What to bring me If you're weighing a sale anywhere in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, or the broader Hampton Roads region, send me your address, unit count, and trailing 12-month operating statement. I'll show you exactly where your property lands against this year's real closed comps before you decide. #HamptonRoadsMultifamily #VirginiaCommercialRealEstate #ApartmentInvesting

# How Much Should I Budget for Insurance on an Apartment Building in Richmond, Virginia? For a stabilized Richmond multifamily property, insurance typically runs $0.18 to $0.28 per square foot annually depending on your building's class — but that number can swing more than double depending on which submarket you're in. On a 200-unit, 850-square-foot-average property, that's the difference between roughly $30,000 and $48,000 a year in insurance alone. ## Why insurance costs vary so much by class and submarket Richmond's 4 & 5 Star properties average $0.28 per square foot in annual insurance, compared to $0.21 for 3-Star and $0.18 for 1 & 2-Star assets. That gap tracks with replacement cost and amenity exposure — newer, higher-end buildings cost more to rebuild and often carry more liability exposure from pools, fitness centers, and covered parking. ## Where the real spread shows up: location Submarket matters as much as class. Among 4 & 5 Star properties, Northside runs $0.38 per square foot and Hopewell County $0.29, while Chesterfield County runs just $0.15 — less than half. Among 3-Star properties, Petersburg/Colonial Heights and Prince George County both run $0.25, while Chesterfield County again sits at the low end around $0.16. If you're budgeting off a citywide average instead of your specific submarket, you could be off by 50% or more in either direction. ## What this means for your NOI Insurance is baked into total operating expenses, and Richmond's 4 & 5 Star total operating costs (including management, payroll, utilities, maintenance, taxes, and insurance) run around $8.77 per square foot annually — with Northside topping out at $10.32 and Chesterfield County running as low as $5.94. That's not a rounding error; on a 100,000-square-foot property, it's a swing of over $400,000 a year in total operating costs, which flows straight through to your NOI and, ultimately, your valuation at sale. ## What to actually do with this Before you assume a market-average insurance number in your underwriting or your listing pro forma, pull your actual policy renewal and compare it against the submarket-specific figures above — not the citywide average. Buyers underwriting your deal will do the same comparison, and if your insurance line item looks out of step with your specific submarket, it's one of the first things they'll flag in diligence. ## The takeaway Insurance costs in Richmond aren't a single number — they're a function of your building's class and your specific submarket, and the spread between the cheapest and most expensive corners of the market is wide enough to move your valuation by six figures. ## What to bring me If you want a clear read on whether your insurance line item is in line with comparable properties in your submarket, send me your current policy declarations page and your operating statement. I'll tell you where you actually stand. #RichmondMultifamily #VirginiaCommercialRealEstate #ApartmentInvesting