Local Real Estate - Virginia

Northern Neck

The Northern Neck of Virginia is a peninsula bounded by the Potomac River on the north, the Chesapeake Bay on the east, the Rappahannock River on the south, and the city of Fredericksburg on the west (see map). It incorporates King George, Richmond, Westmoreland, Northumberland, and Lancaster Counties. Northumberland and Lancaster border the Chesapeake Bay, with Northumberland to the north of Lancaster. Northern Neck real estate varies from inland farmland and woods to spectacular waterfront with big views.
Lancaster County covers 133 square miles with an average of 87 people per square mile  (PSM). In contrast, Richmond has 3,292 PSM, and Alexandria, part of the Washington, DC sprawl, has 8,452 PSM. The US Census Bureau estimates that Lancaster County had 11,519 residents in 2006, just 58 persons different than 2000. About 64% of the population reports living in the same house for at least five years. It’s a quiet and stable community. Incomes from farming and fishing are giving way to health care and other services as traditional jobs disappear and more retirees discover the “pleasant living” here by the Bay.

Northumberland has similar numbers: 192 square miles, 64 PSM, a population of 12,820, 4% change in the population instead of .4%, but with 65% living in the same house for at least five years. Northumberland’s population is even less dense than Lancaster’s and is considered more rural (Northumberland received it’s second stop light in 2007). From a real estate perspective, the biggest differences between the two counties are:

    1. Lancaster has more commercial activity;

    2. Northumberland has more waterfront.

Lancaster County borders the Rappahannock River, which has few tributaries and high riverbank bluffs. Northumberland borders the Potomac, which has more feeder creeks, has almost no bluffs, and also has the Great Wicomico River system, truly one of the prettiest rivers in the Tidewater area, feeding into the Chesapeake Bay.  

Richmond, Virginia 

Richmond is the capital of Virginia the city of Virginia has a population of 192,000 with a metro area population of around 1.2 million. The Richmond Real Estate market boasted the lowest per capita rate of foreclosures in 2006.   The Richmond economy is primarily driven by law, finance and government.