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City assessor: Virginia Beach preliminary FY26 assessments up 5.6%, projected $86.9 billion in real estate value
Summary
City Assessor Sue Cunningham presented preliminary FY26 real estate assessment results to council, reporting a projected 5.6% increase in assessed value, major drivers and timing for final land book and tax notices.
Sue Cunningham, the city assessor, presented the preliminary results of the FY26 real estate assessment to City Council on March 3, saying the final land book will be completed later this year with an effective date of July 1 and that assessment notices are scheduled to be mailed Feb. 28.
Cunningham said preliminary totals put real estate assessed value at about $86.9 billion, a 5.6% increase over the previous year, producing roughly $842 million in taxable value at the current tax rate of 97 cents per $100; Cunningham noted that each penny of the tax rate would generate about $8.7 million in real-estate tax revenue. She reminded council that state law requires annual assessments of all properties and that the assessor’s office completed its market-data analysis through calendar-year 2024 as required.
Cunningham described composition and drivers of the change: residential property represents about 78% of taxable assessed value and about 95% of parcels by count; multifamily and industrial classifications saw the largest year-over-year changes with multifamily demand and industrial rents cited as factors. The assessor said the office processed roughly 63,000 parcels, including about 3,700 exempt properties, and reviewed more than 12,000 ownership transfers for valuation considerations. New construction improvement value for calendar year 2024 was about $578 million, including 955 apartment units and 1,221 new housing units overall.
Cunningham said the assessor’s office uses different reporting methods for certain tables — for example, median change figures shown in one chart include only parcels that existed in both years, while overall change figures include all parcels — and she agreed to provide council a breakdown to clarify differences. She also detailed tax-exemption and incentive programs the assessor tracks and administers, including the Virginia Landmarks Registry (which carries a reduced tax rate on building values), the Virginia Beach Historic Rehabilitation program, a Vibe district program, an APZ conforming-use rehabilitation program, and an energy-efficiency tax credit administered with the planning department.
Councilmembers asked questions about how assessments reflect catch-up from prior years, neighborhood variation in sales data, how appeals and rollbacks work for land-use taxation, and protections for seniors and disabled residents. Cunningham said the commissioner of revenue administers senior and disabled tax-reduction programs and that the assessor's office assesses property market value under state code regardless of taxpayer income; council staff said the city provides tax-reduction programs for qualifying seniors and disabled residents. Cunningham encouraged property owners to review notices and contact the assessor's office with questions or appeals.
