Local Real Estate Market Improves Year-Over-Year

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – The real estate market in Hampton Roads for March saw across the board increases when compared to the same month last year. Data from the Real Estate Information Network (REIN) shows that settled sales, pending sales, active listings, and the median selling price were all higher than they were in March 2025.

“Homebuyers remained comparatively active last month, which is perhaps not surprising, since mortgage rates were lower than they were last March,” said John Chandler of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices RW Towne Property Management and the President of REIN's Board of Directors for 2026. “Even though active listings were up nearly 5%, inventory remained fairly tight due to the increased buyer activity.”

On the Southside, Smithfield/Isle of Wight saw the largest year-over-year increase in settled sales, with 56 closings for a 69.7% jump. Of the large cities, Chesapeake saw closings increase by 29.3%, climbing from 247 in March 2025 to 318 in March 2026, while sales in Suffolk rose 26.3%, from 118 last March to 149 in March 2026.

On the Peninsula, home sales in James City County increased 40.8% year-over-year, increasing from 71 to 100, while Newport News (-9.4%) and Hampton (-8.8%) saw sales drop.

REIN is the multiple listing service in Hampton Roads and the leading provider of real estate data for the region, with offices in Virginia Beach, Hampton, and Portsmouth.

March data points from REIN:

• Active residential listings for March totaled 4,766, up 4.95% from 4,541 in March 2025. There were 4,499 active listings in February.
• Pending sales for the month stood at 2,483, up 11.95% from 2,218 in March 2025. Pending sales were 1,988 in February.
• Settled sales totaled 2,137, up 7.06% from 1,996 in March 2025. Settled sales were 1,600 in February.
• Median sale price (MSP) of homes sold during the month was $360,000. That’s up 3.75% from $347,000 in March 2025 and up compared to $355,000 in February.
• Month’s Supply of Inventory (MSI) for March was 2.25. It was 2.23 in March 2025 and 2.14 in February. MSI is a calculation of how many months there would be homes on the market if no new inventory was added.
• Median days on market (DOM) for the month was 22. It was also 22 in March 2025 and decreased by eight days from 30 in February.
• Residential new construction sold via the MLS during the month was 267 It was 222 in March 2025 and 161 in February. This represents only new homes sold via REIN MLS.