Virginians say housing costs are a crisis, want lawmakers to act

A new statewide survey finds housing one of Virginians’ top concerns — and that a strong majority want lawmakers to act on it.

Most respondents said they support policies to make it easier to build more and smaller types of homes, reduce regulatory requirements, and push local governments to streamline home construction.

Concerns over housing costs weren’t limited to urban or suburban areas. Half of rural respondents also expressed worry. Overall, 73% of those surveyed agreed that the state lacks enough affordable homes to rent or buy.

The survey was conducted online last month by YouGov for the Commonwealth Housing Coalition, a consortium of housing nonprofits and advocacy groups.

Laura Dobbs, policy director at Housing Opportunities Made Equal, said in an interview that the findings