By Maura Stevens
March, 2025

Housing affordability has been an issue in Northern Virginia for some time. Rising home prices and low inventory has prevented many first time homebuyers from purchasing a home and taking advantages of the benefits of  home ownership.

Governor Spanberger made housing affordability a key factor of her campaign and on her first day in office she signed Executive Order No. 3, “Lowering the Cost of Housing by Increasing Supply“. 

The order establishes a comprehensive statewide effort to address housing affordability by increasing the supply of homes and speeding up housing production across the Commonwealth.

The order also creates a new Commission on Unlocking Housing Production and directs multiple state agencies to review and remove regulatory barriers that slow down home construction. This initiative responds to rising housing costs, limited inventory, and delays caused by slow permitting, outdated zoning practices, labor shortages, and inefficient approval processes.

The administration aims to make homeownership more attainable for working families.

Key Actions in the Executive Order

• Statewide regulatory review: Major agencies involved in housing, transportation, environment, conservation, and historic preservation must review their rules and processes to identify outdated, duplicative, or unnecessary regulations that delay housing development.
• Faster, more predictable permitting: Agencies are directed to streamline reviews, improve coordination between state and local governments, and recommend enforceable timelines for approvals.
• Reducing construction barriers: The review will target policies that increase construction costs or delay projects, including barriers affecting labor availability and materials sourcing.
• Ongoing oversight: The newly formed Commission will regularly report on housing production, identify bottlenecks, and recommend legislative and regulatory changes to speed up housing development statewide.

In high-demand markets like Fairfax, Arlington, and Loudoun, this executive order could lead to faster approvals for new housing, more redevelopment of underused properties, and increased housing options near transit and job centers. Over time, these changes may help ease inventory shortages, reduce competition among buyers, and create more attainable entry points into the market—especially for first-time buyers and downsizers.

For homeowners and sellers, this effort could support healthier market balance by expanding inventory while promoting thoughtful growth and redevelopment in established communities.