Condo and townhouse inventory is surging in metro Richmond, with new builds rising at a rapid clip — all while staying far cheaper than single-family homes.

Why it matters: For priced-out buyers, this could be their ticket to RVA homeownership.

The big picture: The condo boom took off nationwide in 2022, largely because of rising interest rates and construction costs, according to Zillow.

• But while inventory is up this year, prices are down. The average condo price fell nationwide by 1.4% in July, making it "the softest condo market since 2012," the Wall Street Journal reports.

Meanwhile, Richmond's condo and townhome prices rose every month this year aside from July, when the median price dipped 3.7% compared to the same time last year.

• The median sales price for a condo or townhouse in Richmond was $373,000 in July, per Richmond Realtors data, or about 14% less than the median price of a single-family home ($435,000).
• The region had about 2.8 months of condo and townhouse inventory in July, up 28% over the previous year. That's compared to 1.7 months for single-family homes, which was down 5.6% from last year.

Zoom in: The lack of buildable land in many of the Richmond region's most coveted neighborhoods is driving much of the building surge for attached homes, Tom Tyler, vice president of research for the Home Building Association of Richmond, tells Axios.

Case in point: The West End, aka Short Pump and nearby, is "the perfect example," Tyler says.

• The area has been built out for years, but it's still in high demand. Cue: denser development — or new homes that take up less physical space.
• In the West End, near well-established, single-family neighborhoods like Wyndham, Wellesley and Twin Hickory, new townhome communities like The Pointe at Twin Hickory, Shire Walk and Laurel Oaks are growing or taking shape.

By the numbers: It's not just Henrico. Of the 1,004 permits for new home builds in metro Richmond in the second quarter of this year, 400 were for condos or townhouses.

What we're watching: To see how condo prices shake out for August and whether July's dip was an outlier.

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Part of Grammy Award-winning artists Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz's art collection is coming to the VMFA.

Why it matters: The exhibit also includes some of the power couple's personal items, and you can see it all for yourself in Richmond starting in November.

State of play: The couple's collection includes powerful works by Black artists, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kehinde Wiley, Amy Sherald and Gordon Parks.

• They're bringing more than 130 works by 40 artists to VFMA for a ticketed exhibit, "Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys."
• Some of their personal items that will be on display include Keys' first piano and Beatz's first drum machine, the Times-Dispatch reports, plus albums and BMX bikes.

What they're saying: "In a moment when there is an attempt to suppress diverse narratives in art and culture, 'Giants' underscores the significance of artists to tell their stories, celebrate life, build upon our creative vitality and resist erasure," VMFA curator Valerie Cassel Oliver said in a statement.

If you go: "Giants" opens at VMFA on Nov. 22 and runs through March 1, 2026.

• Tickets for the exhibit go on sale on Sept. 8. $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for kids.

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👨🏻‍🎨 Henrico is hosting a series of meetings this week so the public can weigh in on the future design of the Lakeside business corridor via its Lakeside Area Design Charrette. (News release)

🏈 A Times-Dispatch review of local high school football coaches' stipends found that at $14,000 a year, Dinwiddie's coach gets the highest extra pay for coaching by far, followed by $8,390 to the Goochland coach.

• The coaches for John Marshall ($3,000) and Armstrong ($3,300), both in RPS, are the lowest paid.

😵‍💫 In the latest legal saga for Petersburg's Dixie Restaurant, the new owners allege the restaurant sale never closed and that the former owners never owned it. (BizSense)

• The saga began with the former owners suing the current owners, alleging they were still owed $250,000 from the sale.

An 11-year-old Tuckahoe Middle School student was killed while riding her bike on Three Chopt Road on Sunday morning. (Times-Dispatch)

• Tuckahoe made school counselors and mental health staff available to students this week.

Labrador Retrievers are the top dog breed in Virginia, according to a new U.S. News & World Report analysis.

Why it matters: It's National Dog Day, so we're celebrating all the good boys and girls out there in this dog-loving city.

The big picture: U.S. News' annual report used pet insurance data going back to 2022 to tally the top breeds in every state.

• In Virginia, they are: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds and Golden Retrievers.
• Nationwide, it's Labs, Chihuahuas and Goldens.

Flashback: Last year, the Chihuahua was No. 1, but analysts had separated "Labs" (then No. 2) and "black Labs" (then No. 10) into separate categories.

• This year, the Labrador category includes Labs of all colors.

The bottom line: Labs may rule in Virginia households, but in this city, we love every breed of dog — just as long as their owner takes their poop home to their own trashcan after a walk.

Tell a dog lover