It’s still much cheaper to rent a starter home in RVA than it is to buy one, per a just-released Realtor.com study.
Why it matters: If you’re stuck renting instead of owning, you could be saving thousands a year.
By the numbers: The average cost of renting a starter home in Richmond in July was $1,527 a month, Realtor.com found.
- That’s about 53% less than the $2,338 average monthly payments on a median price starter home in town.
- And savings for renters are $811 a month — or nearly $10,000 a year.
The intrigue: Richmond’s buying-vs-renting gap is wider than in D.C., Charlotte and Virginia Beach.
- Blame our red-hot real estate market.
The cost of renting in Richmond has inched up by about $36 month since Realtor.com did this study in 2024.
- Meanwhile, the median sales price of Richmond single-family homes ballooned by $30,000 between July and 2026, per stats from the Richmond Association of Realtors.
Reality check: Renting remains cheaper than buying a starter home in the nation’s 50 largest metros, per Realtor.com…