Powhatan County, Virginia: property records and tax sales

Parcels

What Powhatan County’s parcel records hold

Parcels	15,955 parcels on file.
Median assessor value	$341,200, from the 15,818 parcels with a value on file.
Years since the last sale	Median 13 years.

Source: county assessor records and Virginia’s VGIN statewide parcel layer, as copied into shinnslist’s parcel store, read October 12, 2026. Each parcel counts once, by its most recent recorded sale. Nothing here predicts that an owner will sell.

Housing

Powhatan County’s housing, from the Census

Housing units	12,021, of which 696 (6%) stood vacant; 114 (1%) are seasonal or second homes.
Owner-occupied	93% of occupied homes; the rest are rented.
Median home value	$416,000, as owners reported it.
Median gross rent	$1,168 a month, utilities included.
Median year built	1996.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates, tables B25002, B25003, B25004, B25077, B25064, B25035.

Tax sales

How tax sales work in Powhatan County

Lien sales	None. Virginia does not sell tax liens; it sells the property itself at a court-ordered tax sale.
When a parcel can be sold	Once its real estate taxes are still unpaid on December 31 after the second anniversary of the due date; one year for condemned, derelict or blighted buildings.
How	The treasurer publishes the list, the locality sues in circuit court, and the court confirms the sale. The owner can stop it any time before the sale by paying every tax, penalty, interest and cost.

Source: Va. Code § 58.1-3965. Powhatan County sets its own sale calendar. Not legal or investment advice.

Questions

Powhatan County, answered