About
Michael Freeman in North Suffolk and Beyond
Harbour View and Burbage Grant draw buyers year after year, and they are where Michael Freeman spends most of his Suffolk time. He also works downtown and in the villages, where land, zoning and pace are very different.
North Suffolk focus
Harbour View and Burbage Grant are the Suffolk neighborhoods where Michael concentrates his work.
One crossing away
His Newport News office sits on the far side of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel from Harbour View.
Founder of his firm
Michael founded Legacy Builders Realty Group and leads it as Principal Broker, licensed in Virginia.
A teacher at heart
He once taught a first-time homebuyer course, and he still walks every client through each step before it comes.
This Area
Understanding Suffolk, Virginia
Suffolk grew from a 1742 river port into Virginia's largest city by land, and the 1974 merger with Nansemond brought villages and farmland into the same city limits as downtown. North Suffolk's 23435 holds most of the newer neighborhoods, including Harbour View, Burbage Grant and the riverfront homes along the Nansemond, and it connects to the Peninsula by the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel. Downtown's 23434 stretches south from the historic district and Riddick's Folly past Lake Kilby and Hillpoint Farms toward the Great Dismal Swamp. Hobson's 23436 is a small waterfront village on the neck between Chuckatuck Creek and the Nansemond. Homes here have sold at a steadier pace than in Chesapeake or Virginia Beach, the tax rate dropped a penny for FY2027, and the Suffolk 2045 plan steers warehouses and growth toward set corridors. Knowing whether an address sits in a growth area, a village or a tax district is the first step to buying well here.
“In Suffolk the same city holds riverfront homes, peanut-era storefronts and working farms, and Michael Freeman knows how each one is valued.”
Market Snapshot
North Suffolk's Market by the Figures
These numbers are for ZIP 23435: Harbour View, Burbage Grant and Driver. Downtown's 23434 ran lower, at a $354,920 median in Redfin's latest posted data.
Source: Redfin, ZIP 23435, three months ending August 2026. Prices change month to month; Michael can run current numbers for any Suffolk street.
Local Insights
100 Facts About Suffolk, Virginia
Compiled from Redfin, the Census Bureau, the City of Suffolk, Virginia Works and other public sources. Tap a category to expand it.
13Market Fundamentals
- In North Suffolk's 23435, which covers Harbour View, Burbage Grant and Driver, the median sale price was $479,692 for the three months ending August 2026, up 7.8% year over year (Redfin).
- 197 homes sold in 23435 over that period, up 13.0%, with a median of 54 days on market (Redfin).
- The 23435 sale-to-list ratio was 100.1% in August 2026, 35.1% of homes sold above asking, and Redfin's Compete Score was 59.
- The Riverfront at Harbour View posted a median sale price of $839,095 in August 2026, up 16.9% year over year (Redfin).
- Burbage Grant's median sale price was $449,874 in September 2026, up 4.6% from a year earlier (Redfin).
- In 23434, which covers downtown and central and southern Suffolk, the median sale price was $354,920 for the three months ending June 2026, the latest Redfin had posted, on 284 sales.
- Homes in 23434 took a median of 45 days to sell at a 99.7% sale-to-list ratio, and 38.5% went above asking (Redfin, June 2026).
- Hillpoint Farms, mostly in 23434, posted a median sale price of $477,366 in September 2026 (Redfin).
- Hobson's 23436 recorded only five sales in the three months ending August 2026, at a median of $624,730, too few to read as a trend (Redfin).
- Citywide, Suffolk's median sale price was $404,732 in August 2026, up 1.2%, on 504 sales with a median of 48 days on market (Redfin).
- Suffolk's median owner-occupied home value is $347,400, and median gross rent is $1,563 a month (ACS 2020-2024).
- Suffolk's real estate tax rate is $1.06 per $100 of assessed value for FY2027, one cent below the prior year, with halves due December 5 and June 5.
- Two special districts add to the citywide rate: $0.105 per $100 in the Downtown Business Overlay Taxing District and $0.24 in the Route 17 Tax District.
13History & Heritage
- Suffolk was settled in 1742 as a port on the Nansemond River, first called Constant's Warehouse and then renamed for Suffolk, England.
- Suffolk became the Nansemond County seat in 1750, and British forces burned the town in 1779.
- Suffolk was incorporated as a town in 1808 and became an independent city in 1910.
- On January 1, 1974, Suffolk merged with the City of Nansemond, which had existed for only about 18 months, forming today's city.
- After a fire in 1837, Mills Riddick built Riddick's Folly at 510 North Main Street, a Greek Revival house with 21 rooms and 16 fireplaces.
- Union troops occupied Suffolk from 1862 to 1863, and Confederate Gen. James Longstreet besieged the town from April 11 to May 4, 1863.
- Planters built a peanut processing plant in Suffolk in 1913, and the city was declared the Peanut Capital of the World in 1941.
- Mr. Peanut began in 1916 as a contest drawing by a Suffolk schoolboy, marked today by a state historical marker at Hall Avenue and South Main Street.
- Planters co-founder Amedeo Obici bought Bay Point Farm on the Nansemond River in 1924, and the land is now the city's Sleepy Hole Golf Course.
- The Seaboard Station Railroad Museum occupies a restored 1885 station at 326 North Main Street.
- The Suffolk Historic District covers 162 acres and 514 contributing buildings and was listed on the National Register in 1987.
- Driver, first known as Persimmon Orchard, has a 15-acre historic district listed on the National Register in 1995.
- Captain John Smith explored the Nansemond River in 1609, and the river takes its name from the Nansemond tribe.
11Environmental & Geographic
- Suffolk covers about 429 square miles, and its 399 square miles of land make it Virginia's largest city by land area.
- Suffolk has waterfront on both the Nansemond and James rivers.
- The Nansemond River begins in downtown Suffolk and flows north to the James, and Bennett's Creek is one of its major tributaries.
- Lakes Cohoon, Meade and Kilby lie in Suffolk but belong to the City of Portsmouth as water supply reservoirs, and fishing or boating there requires a Portsmouth permit.
- The Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge covers about 113,000 acres of forested wetland, with Lake Drummond at its center.
- The Lake Drummond Wildlife Drive is a 6-mile one-way gravel road entered at 3120 Desert Road, with a $5 vehicle fee.
- Sleepy Hole Park has a 30-acre lake, a 2-mile nature trail and a bluff over the Nansemond River.
- Lone Star Lakes Park covers 1,172 acres with 12 lakes created by marl excavation.
- Agricultural land covers about 31.9% of Suffolk, according to the Suffolk 2045 plan.
- First Street data on Redfin puts 27% of 23435 properties, 18% of 23436 properties and 7% of 23434 properties at risk of severe flooding over 30 years.
- Suffolk's Chesapeake Bay Preservation Area rules require new development to stay outside the 100-foot Resource Protection Area buffer.
10Lifestyle & Culture
- The Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts occupies the former Suffolk High School, built in 1922, at 110 West Finney Avenue.
- The 48th Suffolk Peanut Fest ran October 8-10, 2026, at Suffolk Executive Airport, with concerts, a demolition derby and a drone show.
- Constant's Wharf Park & Marina covers 6 acres on the Nansemond River downtown, with a 28-slip marina and summer concerts.
- The Suffolk Seaboard Coastline Trail runs 6.5 paved miles on a former rail line and is planned to reach 20 miles.
- Sleepy Hole Golf Course, owned by the city, is an 18-hole course that has hosted eight LPGA Tour events.
- Riverfront Golf Club at Harbour View, designed by Tom Doak, plays along the Nansemond River at 5200 River Club Drive.
- Suffolk Golf Course on Holland Road opened in 1951 and borders Lake Kilby.
- Harbour View Marketplace on Harbour View Boulevard has more than 170,000 square feet of shops, anchored by a Regal cinema.
- Downtown Suffolk's new Morgan Memorial Library opened on June 27, 2026.
- Driver hosts the annual Driver Days festival, and the Driver Variety Store is a local landmark.
11Infrastructure & Access
- US 13, 17, 58, 258 and 460 serve Suffolk, along with I-664 and State Route 10.
- US 58, US 13 and US 460 merge on a bypass around Suffolk and stay together to the Hampton Roads Beltway.
- The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel, opened in 1992, links North Suffolk with Newport News across 4.6 miles.
- I-664 Exit 9 serves US 17 and Route 164, and Exit 8 serves College Drive.
- The I-664 corridor near Harbour View carries more than 75,000 vehicles a day.
- Suffolk Executive Airport, owned by the city, has two runways, the longer at 5,007 feet.
- Suffolk Transit has run six fixed routes since 2012, including connectors between downtown and North Suffolk.
- A concept study is underway to replace the Kings Highway Bridge over the Nansemond, closed to traffic since 2005.
- The mean commute for Suffolk residents is 30.2 minutes (ACS 2020-2024).
- Sentara Obici Hospital on Godwin Boulevard is a 175-bed hospital and Primary Stroke Center.
- The James River Bridge, 4.39 miles long, carries US 17 between Newport News and Isle of Wight County.
7Schools & Education
- Suffolk Public Schools reports 21 schools and about 14,600 students.
- The division has 11 elementary, 5 middle and 3 high schools, plus The College & Career Academy at Pruden and Turlington Woods School.
- Suffolk's three high schools are King's Fork, Lakeland and Nansemond River.
- King's Fork High is at 351 Kings Fork Road and Lakeland High at 214 Kenyon Road, both in 23434.
- Nansemond River High School on Nansemond Parkway opened in 1990.
- The middle schools are Col. Fred Cherry, Forest Glen, John F. Kennedy, John Yeates and King's Fork.
- Paul D. Camp Community College runs its Hobbs Suffolk Campus on Kenyon Road and has offered classes in Suffolk since 1979.
10Land, Development & Zoning
- City Council adopted Suffolk 2045, the city's comprehensive plan, in December 2024.
- Suffolk 2045 sets two Growth Areas, Northern and Central, with the Central area built around the historic downtown.
- The plan names seven villages: Crittenden/Eclipse, Hobson, Oakland, Chuckatuck, Driver, Holland and Whaleyville.
- Suffolk 2045 projects about 102,571 residents in 2030 and 116,156 in 2040.
- Growth areas expanded by more than 12% in the new plan, largely for employment centers and warehouses tied to the Port of Virginia.
- The final Suffolk 2045 plan removed Hobson from the Northern Growth Area.
- Suffolk treats short stays as bed and breakfasts, which require the owner to live on or next to the property and cap stays at 30 days.
- CenterPoint Intermodal Center is a 900-acre logistics park along Holland Road (US 58).
- The planned Port 460 Logistics Center covers about 500 acres with room for 5 million square feet of buildings.
- Suffolk has more than 14 million square feet of existing industrial space.
8Demographics
- Suffolk had an estimated 104,699 residents in July 2025, up from 94,324 at the 2020 Census.
- Suffolk's population grew about 67% between 2000 and 2020.
- There are 37,908 households in Suffolk, averaging 2.58 people each (ACS 2020-2024).
- Median household income in Suffolk is $92,666, and per capita income is $45,819 (ACS 2020-2024).
- 33.3% of Suffolk's adult residents hold a bachelor's degree or higher (ACS 2020-2024).
- 90.2% of Suffolk households have broadband, and 95.4% have a computer (ACS 2020-2024).
- At the 2020 Census, 23434 had 51,430 residents, 23435 had 32,597 and 23436 had 962.
- Suffolk averaged about 236 people per square mile in 2020.
8Investment & Value
- 70.7% of Suffolk homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2020-2024).
- Suffolk's largest employers include Amazon, Suffolk Public Schools, SAIC, the city, Sentara Healthcare and Target (Virginia Works, Q3 2025).
- Suffolk had 44,501 jobs at 2,244 employer establishments in the third quarter of 2025 (Virginia Works).
- Suffolk's unemployment rate was 3.6% in September 2025, compared with 3.4% for Virginia and 4.3% nationally.
- Amazon's 3.8-million-square-foot robotic fulfillment center in Suffolk opened in October 2022.
- Lockheed Martin opened its Center for Innovation at 8000 Harbour View Drive in 2005.
- After U.S. Joint Forces Command closed in 2011, the Joint Staff's J7 directorate remained at the North Suffolk site.
- Redfin search data for spring 2026 shows Washington, DC as the top outside source of Suffolk home searches.
9Hyper-Local Detail
- The Riverfront at Harbour View, with streets such as Marsh Landing Lane and North River Road, is entirely in 23435.
- Burbage Grant addresses such as Burbage Lake Circle and Yorkshire Drive are 23435, though a few neighboring homes carry Portsmouth 23703 addresses.
- Bennetts Pasture Road and Shoulders Hill Road addresses are in 23435.
- Bennett's Creek Park on Bennett's Creek Park Road and Sleepy Hole Park on Sleepy Hole Road are both in 23435.
- Driver Lane and Kings Highway addresses in Driver use the 23435 ZIP.
- Kings Fork Road, Lake Kilby Road and Saratoga Street addresses are in 23434.
- Hillpoint Farms addresses are mostly 23434, with a few in 23433 and 23435.
- 23436 covers Hobson, including Hobson Drive, Cherry Point Road, Moores Point Road and the 8200 to 8400 blocks of Crittenden Road.
- Chuckatuck (23432), Crittenden and Eclipse (23433), Holland (23437) and Whaleyville (23438) use ZIPs outside the three featured here.
Why Michael
What Michael Watches for in Suffolk
Port growth, mapped
Suffolk 2045 expanded growth areas for warehouses tied to the Port of Virginia. He checks what is planned near a home before you buy.
Buffers on the water
Riverfront lots fall under the 100-foot Resource Protection Area rule. He confirms what a parcel allows before you plan a dock or addition.
Pricing for a patient market
North Suffolk homes took a median of 54 days to sell in August 2026, so he prices listings to hold attention from day one.
Village or growth area
Suffolk's plan treats villages such as Driver and Hobson differently from its growth areas, and he explains what that means for future building nearby.
FAQ
Answers for Suffolk Buyers and Sellers
Does Michael Freeman work in Suffolk?
Yes. In Suffolk, Michael focuses on North Suffolk neighborhoods such as Harbour View and Burbage Grant, and he works across 23434, 23435 and 23436.
What is Suffolk's real estate tax rate?
The citywide rate is $1.06 per $100 of assessed value for FY2027, due in halves on December 5 and June 5. On a $450,000 assessment that is about $4,770 a year. Homes in the Downtown Business Overlay or Route 17 tax districts pay an added rate.
Which ZIP code is Harbour View in?
Harbour View, Burbage Grant, the Bennett's Creek area and Driver are all 23435. Downtown Suffolk is 23434, Hobson is 23436 and Chuckatuck is 23432.
How is the commute from North Suffolk?
North Suffolk sits on I-664, with the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel leading to Newport News. The corridor near Harbour View carries more than 75,000 vehicles a day, and Suffolk's mean commute is 30.2 minutes.
Can I rent out a Suffolk home short term?
Suffolk handles short stays as bed and breakfasts. The owner must live on or next to the property, stays are capped at 30 days, and some zoning districts require a conditional use permit. Michael recommends confirming with the city before you buy.
How fast are North Suffolk homes selling?
At a steadier pace than much of Hampton Roads. In 23435, the median home took 54 days to sell in the three months ending August 2026, at 100.1% of list price.
More in the Authority Center
Michael's Authority Center covers the questions that reach past one city, from VA loans and inspections to estate sales and moves across Hampton Roads.
Other Areas
Michael's Sites for Nearby Cities
Newport News
Shipyard city with Port Warwick, Hilton Village and City Center
Williamsburg
Historic Triangle living around Colonial Williamsburg
Yorktown
York River waterfront and established York County neighborhoods
Hampton
Historic neighborhoods between the Peninsula and the harbor
Virginia Beach
Oceanfront and Oceana-area homes south of the harbor
Chesapeake
Suburban neighborhoods along the Intracoastal Waterway
Authority Center
Michael's main resource for Hampton Roads real estate, with deeper guides on financing, inspections, estates and relocation.
Contact
Connect With Michael Freeman
Call, email or visit the Legacy Builders Realty Group website to start a conversation about buying or selling in Suffolk.