Roanoke, VA Real Estate & Homes for Sale
Virginia is a beautiful state with many great features like the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia Beach, and everything in between. While many people flock to various parts of the Commonwealth, many choose Roanoke, VA as their new home.
Today, we’ll explore the Roanoke Valley a little bit, give you a few known secrets and showcase some current listings for you as well.
The Roanoke Valley
Nestled along the Blue Ridge mountains and following along the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Roanoke Valley encompasses the city of Roanoke, the city of Salem, the town of Vinton, and of course Roanoke County.
Together, the area has roughly 110,000 people and spans nearly 250 square miles of roads, greenways, mountains, and literally everything in between.
The Valley is roughly 3 hours from Washington D.C., 3 hours from Richmond, and about an hour and a half from Greensboro, NC.
What are the home costs of those living in the Roanoke Valley?
The cost of living in Roanoke, VA is 12% lower than the state average and 11% lower than the national average.
In fact, according to Realtor.com, in March 2023, the average price of a new home in our region was just under $260,000.
Average Price of Homes
What is it like living in the Roanoke Valley?
Living in Roanoke is somewhat ‘slow’ compared to many other regions of the country and I mean that in a nice way. People in the region tend to have a much slower pace of life, they are fairly nice, there is little crime compared to other regions and for the most part, the cost of living is far less than other regions of the state.
With 100 being the national average, Roanoke scores in at 83.5. Most things like utilities, groceries, and transportation cost far less, with health care being the only category that tends to cost more.
The big draw for families to move to the region is the lower cost of living with there being a large outdoor community.
From running communities, hiking, and biking, to kayaking and boating, there are many things for people to do if they like the outdoors, that’s because the valley is right up against the Blue Ridge Mountain range.
Other activities that are a draw are the variety of breweries and wineries that surround the region, there are plenty to choose from if you enjoy that sort of thing. My personal favorites with regards to breweries include Parkway Brewing Company in Salem, Golden Cactus which is a downtown, urban brewery, and Twin Creeks Brewery in Vinton.
If you enjoy wines, Feather and Fables just outside of Vinton is a great local choice and if you like the downtown scene, I recommend The Golly Grape, a wine store that lets you taste wine for free, then purchase what you enjoy.
The region is also family friendly too, with lots of places to eat, parks for kids to play, and lots of music played at Dr. Pepper Park and Elmwood Park. Center in the square offers families a great place to play, explore and learn as they have the SWVA science museum, candy store, pinball museum where you can play the machines, retro arcade, and kids square, where the little ones can play on an entire floor.
Mill Mountain Star
Roanoke is also famous for its standing star which shines more than 1,000 feet on top of Mill Mountain within the city limits. You can see the star lit up in most of Roanoke and Salem, with a few sections of Vinton.
Mill Mountain Star is a 100-foot-high, neon-lit, the star gave Roanoke the nickname “Star City of the South”.
It was constructed in 1949 for Christmas festivities and attracts all of the tourists that come to visit Roanoke. Right under the star, you can see amazing views of the city there is Mill Mountain Zoo nearby to take the kids and there is a small train called the Zoo-Choo, which is fun to ride!
Best Guide to the Roanoke Valley
I recommend visiting the Visit Roanoke website as they will have an extensive list of things to do, an online calendar, as well as much more information about the region.
Also, check out this great online tool that we have put together that can help you figure out your house budget, monthly payment and much more.
