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Richmond-area homes less affordable thanks to high prices

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Avula sworn in as Richmond mayor hours before taking office

New homeowner, Ryan Grech, speaks about his experience in buying home.

The price of a home in greater Richmond continued increasing in 2024. Coupled with high interest rates, buying a house became increasingly out of reach for many Richmond-area residents.

In the third quarter of the year, the median sales price of a home in greater Richmond was $420,000, a 6% increase from the year before. While home values did not skyrocket like they did immediately after the pandemic, they did not peak, either.

An influx of new residents to greater Richmond is often blamed for the area's increased real estate costs. The areas closest to downtown, which tend to have the least space for new construction, saw prices change the least. In Richmond, home prices were nearly flat compared with a year before. Henrico County experienced a 4% rise.

But in counties where there is more space to build, prices shot up. Chesterfield and Goochland counties experienced an 8% increase, and Hanover had a massive 17% spike in the cost to buy a home.

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Altogether, the median price of a home in greater Richmond has surged since 2014, when it was just $215,000. Richmond's reputation as a destination for affordable housing has faded somewhat.

"Getting a good deal in this market — there's no such thing," Becky McNeer, a real estate agent, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in February.

Interest rates didn't help. In the summer, the rate of a 30-year mortgage climbed to almost 8% before dipping to under 7% this month.

Buying a home got increasingly less feasible for some Richmond-area residents, especially Gen Zers, the youngest generation of adults. To make ends meet, they made smaller down payments, worked second jobs and asked their parents for gifts.

To help ease the burden, Henrico started a $60 million trust fund and is using the money to help build more affordable homes for middle-class workers such as retail employees, child care workers and teachers.

Commercial projects

High interest rates also slowed major commercial development projects. They forced the city of Richmond to make a new financial plan to pay for the new minor league baseball stadium, CarMax Park. The city broke ground on the long-awaited stadium in the summer, and work is expected to begin next year on the massive neighborhood surrounding the stadium, called the Diamond District. Across Hermitage Road, VCU broke ground on its 42-acre athletics village.

The $30 million outdoor concert space near the James River, called the Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, took shape in 2024 and is scheduled to open in June.

Other significant projects progressed or were announced. The $30 million outdoor concert space near the river, called the Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront, took shape and is scheduled to open in June. Shamin Hotels announced a 12-story hotel on North Arthur Ashe Boulevard and, after months of debate, Virginia Union University said it would preserve a historic Black hospital as part of a plan to build general-use residences on its campus.

Recognizing the pressure higher housing prices have put on college students, VCU announced plans to build a 1,000-bed residence hall on West Grace Street.

The construction of apartments continued in Scott's Addition and the surrounding streets. Greyhound Lines Inc. delayed its plan to shutter its bus station on Arthur Ashe but still expects to close the decades-old facility next year and move service to Shockoe Bottom. Its replacement? Mixed-use buildings with more residences.

Powhatan County approved a California developer's plans for a $2.7 billion data center at the Chesterfield County line.

Data centers

Perhaps no construction projects were as hotly debated as data centers. Powhatan County approved plans for a $2.7 billion data center at the Chesterfield County line. The town of Ashland approved a 234-acre data center project that would straddle the Ashland-Hanover County border, but Hanover supervisors rejected it, putting the proposal in limbo.

A developer that wanted to build a data center near Azalea Avenue in northern Henrico withdrew its proposal after the county's Planning Commission recommended denying the project. The site would have been near Amazon's 2.7 million-square-foot fulfillment center known as RIC 4. A ribbon-cutting was held in March for the Amazon building.

Collection: Times-Dispatch top stories of 2024

Virginia's mail is getting better, albeit slowly, and still tracks below its performance rate before a nationwide overhaul.

Top stories of 2024: Tavares Floyd's donations, family connections called into question

Weeks before the Nov. 5 elections, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that at least five reported donors to 6th District City Council candidate Tavares Floyd denied contributing to his campaign.

Top stories of 2024: City's credit card program hit by abuse

In May, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that credit cards assigned to Registrar Keith Balmer and Deputy Registrar Jerry Richardson had been suspended after tens of thousands of dollars in questionable charges.

Top stories of 2024: Richmond restaurants deal with huge meals tax bills

More than 600 restaurants were hit with meals tax collection bills that tallied well into the tens of thousands.

Top stories of 2024: A tumultuous political year sees Trump return

It was one of the more tumultuous years in politics in a long time. Donald Trump won a White House re-engagement, President Joe Biden's campaign collapsed, and Virginians sent some faces to the Capitol.

Top stories of 2024: Hamas attack, Gaza war effects felt in Richmond

The Hamas-led attack on Israel impacted Richmond in multiple ways, from the killing of former resident Hersh Goldberg-Polin, to the numerous Pro-Palestine protests around the city. 

Top stories of 2024: UVa's Bennett retires, shocks college sports landscape

As Bennett, alongside director of athletics Carla Williams, prepared to address the media the following day, the nationwide conversation surrounding the evolving landscape of college athletics hovered over the proceedings. 

Top stories of 2024: Planned CarMax Park, Diamond District taking shape

The Diamond, home to professional baseball in Richmond since 1985, heads into its final season in 2025.

Top stories of 2024: Huguenot High shooting trial and RTD legal challenge for report

The Richmond Times-Dispatch sued the Richmond School Board over its decision to withhold a report about the Huguenot High School graduation shooting.

Eric Kolenich

(804) 649-6109

ekolenich@timesdispatch.com

Growth and Development Reporter

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