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Apartment turnover cost in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC

A typical 2-bedroom apartment turnover in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk runs about $1,092–$3,564 (expected $1,857). That is 5% below the national figure of $1,960.

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Expected, typical 2 bedroom$1,857
Likely range$1,092 to $3,564
$1,092$3,564
Same scenario, nationally
$1,960
Virginia median
$1,811
Data
BLS OEWS May 2025

What a turnover costs in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, by unit size

Expected cost of a make-ready turn for five common unit types, under three move-out conditions. The typical column also shows the likely range.

UnitLightTypicalHeavy
Studio1 bath$751$1,330$739 to $2,673$3,625
1 bedroom1 bath$751$1,536$889 to $3,029$4,647
2 bedroom1 bath$801$1,857$1,092 to $3,564$5,813
3 bedroom2 bath$901$2,310$1,378 to $4,366$7,253
3 bedroom house2 bath$945$2,625$1,599 to $4,948$8,428
  • LightMove-out in good shape: a few nail holes and scuffs, a dirty range and refrigerator, one bent blind.
  • TypicalA full repaint, spot-treated carpet stains, a hole in an interior door, bent blinds, torn screens, dirty grout, range and refrigerator.
  • HeavyPet-damaged carpet replaced, many wall holes and a full repaint, heavy-soil cleaning, odor treatment, a trash-out, a replaced door, missing keys and damaged cabinet doors (plus yard debris for the house).

Every scenario also carries the standard turn baseline: cleaning by bedroom and bathroom, HVAC filter, alarm test, bulbs, rekeying the exterior locks, a pest inspection and the final punch walk. Standard profile, property-manager vendor pricing, built in 2005, typical unit sizes assumed.

Local labor by trade

Labor is mixed in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk: 8 trades cost less than the national median and 3 cost more. The widest gap is appliance repair, 59% above the national median. 2 more are within 1% of national.

Cheaper than national

  1. Flooring14% below
  2. Cleaning11% below
  3. Yard and landscaping7% below

Pricier than national

  1. Appliance repair59% above
  2. Locksmith3% above
  3. Window glass2% above

Index is the local median hourly wage divided by the national median for the same occupations. Only the labor share of each price is scaled; materials are not.

TradeIndexVersus national median
Appliance repairappliance repair and install1.5959% above
Locksmithrekeying and keys1.033% above
Window glassglass replacement1.022% above
Pest controlinspection and treatment1.00same as national
Electricallicensed electrical work0.991% below
HVACservice visits0.973% below
Hauling and trash-outtrash-out and bulky items0.973% below
Plumbinglicensed plumbing work0.973% below
Handyman and maintenancesmall repairs, blinds, alarms, final walk0.964% below
Paintingrepaints and touch-up0.955% below
Yard and landscapingmowing and yard cleanup0.937% below
Cleaningturn cleans and carpet cleaning0.8911% below
Flooringcarpet and plank installation0.8614% below
Drywalldrywall visit charges0.8317% below *

* Does not scale any task price. It only sets the visit minimum, so it is left out of the comparisons above.

Unit prices for common make-ready tasks in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk

What one unit of each task costs here, before any vendor visit minimum. Materials are included.

TaskLowExpectedHigh
Repaint all wallsper floor sq ft$0.53$0.81$1.34
Carpet replacement with padper sq ft$2.11$3.05$4.69
Standard turn clean, kitchen and living areasper unit$49.25$71.64$107.46
Rekey a lock cylinderper cylinder$15.45$25.75$46.35
Trash-out and haul-awayper cu yd$29.10$38.80$58.20
Drywall patch, doorknob-size holeeach$57.60$105.60$192.00
Replace window blindseach$16.66$35.28$93.10
Replace a smoke alarmeach$21.30$35.20$82.87
Replace an HVAC filtereach$9.41$18.53$40.08

How Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk compares

It ranks 4th of 13 areas in Virginia by cost (1 is the most expensive). A typical 2-bedroom turn there ranges from $1,680 in Southwest Virginia to $1,916 in Staunton-Stuarts Draft, with a median of $1,811. Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk is 3% above it. Nationally the same scenario comes to $1,960.

AreaTypical 2 bedroomVersus national
Staunton-Stuarts Draft$1,916-2%
Richmond$1,909-3%
Charlottesville$1,894-3%
Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk$1,857-5%
Roanoke$1,849-6%
Winchester$1,830-7%
Harrisonburg$1,811-8%
Northeast Virginianonmetropolitan area$1,799-8%
4 more areas not shown
Southwest Virginianonmetropolitan area$1,680-14%
National figure$1,960baseline

Typical 2-bedroom turn, expected cost. Areas are ordered from most to least expensive within the state.

Notes for Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk

  • Older buildings. Rental units built before 1978 need lead-safe work practices when paint is disturbed (EPA RRP). For the typical 2-bedroom scenario that adds about $1,045 in Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, taking the expected total from $1,857 to $2,902. Enter the year built in the estimator to include it.
  • ZIP codes. The estimator maps ZIP prefixes 233xx, 234xx, 235xx, 236xx, 237xx to this area. ZIP lookup works at the 3-digit level, so a ZIP at the edge of Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk may be priced at a neighbouring area.
  • Price level. Figures assume a property manager buying turns from local vendors (the estimator's default). A one-off owner hiring a single contractor typically pays more; a portfolio contract pays less.

Method and data

Every figure was computed by the same engine behind the free estimator and the API (ruleset pt-2026.10.3). National unit prices from published cost guides and bids are scaled by the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage index for the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area (OEWS May 2025). These are estimate ranges for budgeting, not quotes (read the disclaimer). How the estimate works.

We keep an anonymized record of estimates (ZIP3, unit size, findings and totals; never your notes, address, IP or contact details) to improve accuracy.

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