Hampton Roads Rent - 5 Key Takeaways

Hampton Roads Rent - 5 Key Takeaways

Rents continue to rise in Hampton Roads as the region still struggles with affordable 1 bedroom apartments. In June, the average rent was $1,812 a month. That’s up from $1,780 a month in May.  

The averages for each unit type:

Studio: $1,373
1-Bedroom: $1,539
2-Bedroom: $1,744
3+ Bedroom: $2,013

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5 Key Takeaways

Chesapeake and Virginia Beach continue to be the most expensive cities for renters. Portsmouth remained the least expensive despite an increase in their average rent.

2. Rent Changes

Norfolk, Hampton, and Chesapeake all saw rents fall. While Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Suffolk, and Newport News all saw rents increase.

3. Affordable Neighborhoods

Affordable 1 Bedrooms continue to elude the region. The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment was $1,539.

To put that in perspective, if you make minimum wage you’d have to work 106 hours a week to afford a 1 bedroom apartment, (keeping rent at 30% of your income). That leaves you with enough time in the week to choose between sleeping or eating.

4. Dwindling Options

The good news? The number of neighborhoods where 1 bedroom apartments average less than $1,200 a month increased from 34 neighborhoods in May to 41 neighborhoods.

The bad news? Those affordable neighborhoods are concentrated in some places and not others. The bulk of affordable 1 bedroom apartments are concentrated in parts of Norfolk and Newport News, particularly around Ocean View. Virginia Beach and Chesapeake each have only one neighborhood where 1 bedroom apartments averaged less than $1,200/ month. Suffolk has zero.

4. Climate Change

Norfolk has fourteen neighborhoods where 1 bedroom rents average less than $1,200 per month. Seven of these neighborhoods are at high risk for flooding, especially along Ocean View and the Lafayette River. A major question facing Norfolk is what will happen to renters in these neighborhoods as flooding becomes more severe and Norfolk’s managed retreat policies kick in?

Without protection for renters, we could see the joint dilemmas of dwindling affordable housing stock and the displacement of renters hit the region all at once. Wedged between the sea and poverty, where will our region's renters go?

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Bonus:

Saltmeadow Bay Apartments netted investors 161% profit.  

The apartment complex in Virginia Beach is owned by Capital Square 1031, a financial firm that owns around 1,000 units in the region. Their prospectus noted "substantial room to increase rental rates" as a key investment highlight. Capital Square was named one of Virginia Chamber of Commerce's 'Fantastic 50' Businesses.

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