Virginia Is Struggling in Affordability and Homebuilding: Can Spanberger Get the State Building Again?

Virginia’s housing market reflects both the promise and the pressures of the nation's current economy.

The Realtor.com® State-by-State Housing Report Card gave the 10th state in the union a B-, underscoring the state’s chronic affordability issues and slow pace of new construction. The report—part of the Let America Build campaign—grades every state on how well it balances housing supply and costs. Virginia’s score shows a market weighed down by high land prices, complex permitting, and uneven development across regions.

But this is a national problem. In fact, President Donald Trump recently put pressure on homebuilders to increase construction nationwide, given the issues with construction in the country. In a post on his Truth Social platform in early October, he accused major builders of hoarding lots to prop up prices—likening them to OPEC, which restricts oil output to maintain high prices.

“They’re my friends ... but now, they can get Financing, and they have to start building Homes. They’re sitting on 2 Million empty lots, A RECORD,” Trump wrote. He urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to intervene and “get Big Homebuilders going” to “restore the American Dream.” 

So, will the new governor-elect be able to take up the call to action?

Virginia’s B- grade explained

The Realtor.com analysis gave Virginia a total score of 61.5, landing it just shy of ranking in the top 10. The state’s median listing price reached $434,711 in 2024, paired with a median household income of $89,172.

Virginia accounted for 2.3% of all national housing permits in 2024 while making up 2.6% of the U.S. population—a near match that translates to a permit-to-population ratio of 0.96.

The new-construction premium—the difference between new- and existing-home prices—was 39%, indicating that new homes are often priced beyond the reach of entry-level buyers.

The South’s strong showing leaves Virginia behind

Nationally, new construction is helping to stabilize affordability. The Realtor.com New Construction Insights report found that the median new-home price held steady at $450,797, while resale prices rose 2.4%. That narrowed the national new-construction premium to just 7.8%, the lowest on record.

Across the South, states such as Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina are driving most of the nation’s housing growth. Their builder-friendly policies, available land, and infrastructure investments have kept prices more stable than in Virginia, where supply remains tighter.

But efforts need to ramp up, even in places where homebuilding is being prioritized.

“America is short more than 4.7 million homes, and every new home built helps close that gap while fueling local economies," says Shannon McGahn, executive vice president and chief advocacy officer at the National Association of Realtors®.

"NAR research shows that the U.S. has faced a persistent housing shortage for more than a decade, driving up prices and limiting options for buyers. Expanding housing supply creates jobs, supports small businesses, and affords families the opportunity to build generational wealth.”

Gov. Youngkin’s 'Make Virginia Home' initiative

Gov. Glenn Youngkin made housing reform a signature priority of his administration. In 2025, he expanded the 2022 Make Virginia Home initiative—a statewide effort launched to reduce regulatory barriers, promote workforce housing, and accelerate development near job centers.

The plan includes funding for infrastructure upgrades, new financing tools for developers, and incentives for localities that adopt pro-housing zoning reforms. It also expands support for the Virginia Housing Trust Fund, which helps finance affordable housing and public-private partnerships to build homes for teachers, first responders, and service workers.

“Virginia’s economy is thriving, but our housing supply isn’t keeping up,” Youngkin said during a 2025 housing roundtable. “We have to build more—faster—and we have to make it possible for every Virginian to find a home they can afford.”

But Youngkin's time is coming to an end. Democrat Abigail Spanberger was elected to office on Nov. 4, and it will be her job to move the state forward.

For her part, Spanberger has vowed to carry on the work of her Democrat predecessor, pledging as part of her "Affordable Virginia" plan to include "incentives for construction of starter homes or smaller homes for first time homeowners, encouraging the redevelopment of abandoned commercial buildings for residential use, increasing funding to the Virginia Housing Trust Fund for affordable housing, and re-establishing an Interagency Council on Homelessness," according to her campaign website.

Dina Sartore-Bodo and Gabriella Iannetta contributed to this report.