Virginia Beach is One of the Nation’s Biggest Rent Growth Markets

Virginia Beach has emerged as a standout performer in the apartment sector, consistently outpacing national rent growth trends over the past few years. That is a reversal from when Virginia Beach consistently trailed the U.S. during the COVID-19 peak in 2021 and 2022, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. When national annual rent growth decelerated sharply in 2023, Virginia Beach saw its own positioning fall at a less drastic pace. When the U.S. dipped into slight annual rent cuts in 2025, Virginia Beach sustained positive gains, generally ranging between 2% and 3%. By early 2026, Virginia Beach rent growth began accelerating again, reaching 4.9% annually by May. This widened the gap between performance in the southern market and the U.S. overall, where slight cuts remain the norm. The widening gap highlights the market’s relative insulation from broader softness, supported by steady demand and more balanced supply conditions.