Homes for Sale in Virginia Beach, VA

I-264 is the main east-west route. It runs from the Oceanfront past Town Center into Norfolk, where it meets I-64 toward Chesapeake, the Peninsula and Norfolk International Airport. I-64 also crosses the northwest corner of the city on its way to the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, Newport News and Hampton. Virginia Beach Boulevard runs parallel to I-264 as the main commercial corridor, and Independence Boulevard and Lynnhaven Parkway carry north-south traffic through the middle of the city. Princess Anne Road leads south past the Municipal Center toward Pungo, and General Booth Boulevard heads toward Sandbridge. Shore Drive follows the bay and crosses Lynnhaven Inlet on the Lesner Bridge. U.S. 13 leaves the city's bay shore on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel toward the Eastern Shore. Hampton Roads Transit buses serve the city, and its Tide light rail ends at Newtown Road on the Norfolk line. The boardwalk has a separate bike path, but most neighborhoods are built around the car. Which interstate a neighborhood feeds into is the biggest single commute factor in the region, so check it before you fall for a house.

Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS) runs the public elementary, middle and high schools inside the city. It is one of the largest divisions in Virginia, and it assigns schools by home address through attendance zones. The high-school zone a home falls into is one of the most-searched filters on this page, and the school-zone section above links to each zone. Zone lines can change, so confirm the assignment for any address with the division before you write an offer. Several high schools host academy programs, such as advanced technology, health sciences and the visual and performing arts. Those academies draw students from across the division by application. For higher education, Regent University and Virginia Wesleyan University both have campuses in the city. Tidewater Community College's largest campus sits on Princess Anne Road across from Landstown High School, and its Advanced Technology Center is shared with the school division. Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University are a short drive away in Norfolk.

First Landing State Park sits at Cape Henry, near where English colonists came ashore in 1607. It has trails through maritime forest and cypress swamp and a beach on the bay, and the Cape Henry Lighthouse stands close by. Mount Trashmore Park is a city park built on a capped landfill, with lakes and a skate park. The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center sits on General Booth Boulevard south of the Oceanfront. The boardwalk runs the length of the resort beach with a separate bike lane, and fishing and sightseeing boats leave from Rudee Inlet at its south end. On the bay side, Chic's Beach and the Shore Drive beaches have calmer water, and Lynnhaven Inlet is the launch point for boating. The city runs recreation centers with indoor pools and gyms, including Bayside, Bow Creek, Great Neck, Kempsville, Princess Anne, Seatack and Williams Farm. Red Wing Park near Oceana has gardens and trails, and the Virginia Beach Sportsplex anchors organized sports in the Landstown area. In the south, Little Island Park in Sandbridge has a fishing pier and a kayak launch on Back Bay. Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park protect the barrier spit beyond it. The Military Aviation Museum in Pungo flies a collection of World War I and World War II aircraft from its own grass airfield.

Town Center, in the Pembroke area off Virginia Beach Boulevard and Independence Boulevard, is the closest thing the region has to a downtown. Its blocks mix restaurants, offices, apartments and shops around a central plaza, with the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts on one side. Lynnhaven Mall on the west side of the city is the largest enclosed mall in the area, with big-box retail along Lynnhaven Parkway. Hilltop, where Laskin Road meets First Colonial Road, is the shopping district closest to the Oceanfront and the Great Neck neighborhoods. Farther south, Red Mill Commons and Landstown Commons serve the Princess Anne corridor. At the beach, Atlantic Avenue carries the resort restaurants, and the ViBe Creative District just inland has local restaurants, murals and art studios. Shore Drive is the place for seafood on the bay side, and Lynnhaven oysters, blue crab and rockfish are the regional signatures. The city-run Virginia Beach Farmers Market at Dam Neck Road and Princess Anne Road is open year-round with produce, a seafood market and a butcher shop. Pungo farms sell strawberries in season, and the city publishes a strawberry guide for the pick-your-own fields.

NAS Oceana, Dam Neck Annex and Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story are among the largest employers inside the city. Oceana is the Navy's largest master jet base. Sentara Healthcare runs Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital on First Colonial Road and Sentara Princess Anne Hospital on the south side of the city. The city's official major-employer list also names GEICO's regional office, STIHL's North American headquarters, the Navy Exchange Service Command headquarters and the Gold Key | PHR hotel group. LoanCare, the Christian Broadcasting Network, LifeNet Health and ECPI University are headquartered here as well, and Lockheed Martin and SAIC keep defense offices near the bases. Tourism and hospitality along the Oceanfront, professional and financial offices at Town Center, and agriculture in the rural south round out the picture. For a buyer, the practical point is that work here is spread across several industries rather than one. The bases, the hospitals and Town Center are each within a short drive of most of the city.

On the coast, Sandbridge is the low-rise beach community at the south end, between the ocean and Back Bay. The North End runs north of the resort strip on lanes of cottages and custom homes. Croatan Beach lies south of Rudee Inlet, and Rudee Heights sits on the peninsula beside the inlet. Just inland, Birdneck Point, Linkhorn Park and Bay Colony line Linkhorn Bay with deep-water lots. Along Shore Drive, Chic's Beach, Cape Henry Shores, Baylake Pines and Church Point face the Chesapeake Bay or the Lynnhaven River. Thoroughgood and Haygood sit just inland in the Bayside area. The Great Neck peninsula holds Great Neck, Great Neck Point, Broad Bay Island, Baycliff and Broad Bay Point Greens, with Alanton and Hilltop toward Laskin Road. Kings Grant, Middle Plantation and Kings Forest fill the Little Neck area between there and Town Center, and Pembroke and Thalia surround Town Center itself. Aragona Village, Larkspur, Fairfield, Acredale, Woodstock and Stratford Chase are the established Kempsville subdivisions, and Cypress Point wraps its golf course in the Bayside area. Along the Holland Road corridor, Green Run, Timberlake, Chimney Hill, Lake Placid, Rollingwood and Christopher Farms offer some of the city's most attainable single-family streets. Salem, Glenwood, Rock Creek and Highland Parish sit along Salem Road and the Landstown corridor. Courthouse Estates, Victoria Park, Foxfire, Kingston Estates and West Neck cluster around the Municipal Center and North Landing Road. Lago Mar, Heritage Park, Highgate Greens and South Shore Estates sit off General Booth Boulevard near Red Mill. Ashville Park lies a few miles inland from Sandbridge. Pungo, Blackwater and Creeds are the farm country at the bottom of the city, where lots are measured in acres.

Buying here follows the standard Virginia path with a few local wrinkles. Start with a lender pre-approval so your offer can move quickly; conventional, FHA, VA and USDA loans are all common here, and each has its own eligibility steps to confirm early. Virginia Beach is an independent city, so property records, assessments and school zoning are all handled at the city level. The Real Estate Assessor sets assessed values, and the City Treasurer bills real estate taxes in installments on the dates shown in the tax section above. Offers in this market are written on the REIN standard purchase agreement and usually carry inspection, appraisal and financing contingencies. Many homes sit in communities with a homeowners association, and condominiums carry their own fees on top of the mortgage. Virginia's Resale Disclosure Act requires the seller to deliver the association's resale certificate, and the buyer gets a short window to cancel after it arrives. Waterfront and creek-front lots fall under the city's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area rules, which limit clearing and building near the shoreline. Check those rules before you plan a dock or an addition. Some homes in the rural south rely on private wells and septic systems, which add inspection steps. Flood insurance is a standard line item to price before you remove contingencies. Ask your lender and insurance agent for a quote on any home you are serious about. Closings run through a settlement agent, either an attorney or a title company, and you get the keys at settlement.