City of Salem, Virginia: property records and tax sales

Parcels

What City of Salem’s parcel records hold

Parcels	10,694 parcels on file.

Source: county assessor records and Virginia’s VGIN statewide parcel layer, as copied into shinnslist’s parcel store, read October 18, 2026. Each parcel counts once, by its most recent recorded sale. Nothing here predicts that an owner will sell.

Housing

City of Salem’s housing, from the Census

Housing units	11,112, of which 856 (8%) stood vacant; 109 (1%) are seasonal or second homes.
Owner-occupied	63% of occupied homes; the rest are rented.
Median home value	$258,600, as owners reported it.
Median gross rent	$1,133 a month, utilities included.
Median year built	1971.

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 City of Salem

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. City of Salem sets its own sale calendar. Not legal or investment advice.

Questions

City of Salem, answered