Changes to Arlington County’s affordable housing regulations might bring some improvements, but they’re unlikely to solve larger affordability issues, people studying the topic say.
“Tempering expectations is really important,” said Bryan Coleman, who chairs a working group set up by Arlington’s Housing Commission to study potential changes in the county’s Affordable Housing Ordinance.
Memorial Day Closures — “Arlington County Government offices & services are operating on modified schedules on Memorial Day… Permit parking is always in effect unless specifically noted on the sign. Meters are not enforced on holidays.” [Arlington County]
Local Immigration Cases — “On Aug. 5, 2022, ICE agents learned that Campos-Guzman was illegally present in the United States. Campos-Guzman was convicted of being drunk in public and disorderly conduct (2022, Arlington County), and, again, being drunk in public (2023, Arlington County), and possession of Schedule III drugs (2023, Arlington County). On March 18, Campos-Guzman pled guilty to illegally reentering the United States following a previous removal.” [USAO]
Gov. Touts Va. Jobs –“ Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that… Virginia’s nonfarm payroll employment edged up 500 over-the-month to 4,272,700, a 47,900 increase since April 2024… The labor force decreased by 7,540 to 4,579,104 as the number of unemployed residents increased by 6,305 to 151,942. The number of employed residents decreased by 13,845 to 4,427,162.” [Press Release]
Rain Alleviates Drought — “After 2 to 5 inches of rain fell last week, much of the southern half of the D.C. region is no longer in a drought, according to the federal government’s U.S. Drought Monitor… This week’s additional rain will probably further lessen the drought by the time next week’s Drought Monitor is released (next Thursday). Since Tuesday night, much of the area has received 0.5 inches to 1 inch of rain.” [CWG]
It’s Friday — Expect a mostly sunny day with temperatures reaching around 67 degrees and a west wind blowing at 9 to 14 mph, gusting up to 23 mph. The night will be mostly clear with lows near 50 degrees and a west wind ranging from 6 to 11 mph. [NWS]
This regularly scheduled column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. If you would like to work with Eli and his team in Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. Metro area, you can reach him directly at [email protected].
Question: How much of an impact do you think the ROAD to Housing Act will have on housing affordability in Arlington?
Answer: The Road to Housing Act became law ten days ago, with the stated goal of improving housing affordability in the United States.
I don’t see many policies in the Act that will improve affordability in the Arlington/Northern VA/DC Metro markets, outside of incentives for more affordable multi-family housing, but there are policies that should improve affordability in other markets that are more saturated with institutional investors that own swaths of single-family homes (e.g. Atlanta and Phoenix) and for manufactured/mobile homes.
The Local Conversation Needs to Change
If we are going to improve affordability in our market, most of the change has to be done locally/regionally, not nationally, but it requires a paradigm shift in how we discuss and solve for housing affordability.
Affordability Disconnect: Near Term Expectations Not Realistic
A disconnect between housing affordability expectations and reality prevents the right community and political conversations from happening. We expect/demand housing affordability immediately, ignoring the difficulty, and consequences, of achieving it that quickly.
Stable and healthy housing affordability is a long-term process requiring gradual change over a 10-15+ year period.
Demand-Side Solutions Won’t Work
Demand-side solutions, such as lower interest rates or easier financing, artificially inflate home values, as seen during the COVID-era housing boom and early 2000s. They are not a good long-term solution to affordability because they push values even higher (along with your property taxes) and affordability gets worse when rates/lending normalize and no longer provide artificially low monthly payments.
Supply-Side Solutions Are Not Immediate
Most policy discussions focus on supply-side solutions: building more/faster and denser housing (e.g. Arlington’s Missing Middle/Expanded Housing Option), incentivizing more existing home sales, or disincentivizing concentrated ownership by companies and individuals. Econ 101 tells us that more supply = lower prices = affordable housing (winner winner!).
This is the only path to stable, long-term housing affordability…BUT, at current interest rates, prices must drop 30-35% in the United States to become affordable, at current income levels. A 30-35% drop in home values would devastate the economy, so a supply-side solution won’t (shouldn’t) provide immediate affordability. (more…)
ABC NOTICE: BB1028GAR, LLC, trading as Buffalo & Bergen, 3003 Washington Blvd, Arlington, Virginia 22201 is applying to the VIRGINIA ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) AUTHORITY for a Wine and Beer On and Off, Mixed Beverage license to sell or manufacture alcoholic beverages. Gina Chersevani, Managing Member. NOTE: Objections to the issuance of this license must be submitted to ABC no later than 30 days from the publishing date of the first of two required newspaper legal notices. Objections should be registered at www.abc.virginia.gov or (800) 552-3200.
Join us on August 1 between 10 AM to 2 PM for a drop‑in event for the whole family! Explore our Dojo—the high‑tech, STEAM‑driven space where you can dive into activities like MakeCode Arcade, Roblox, Minecraft, robotics, 3D printing, drones, VR, and more. While you’re here, take advantage of our amazing enrollment specials, or simply enjoy a fun day of coding, meeting new friends, high fives, and plenty of Hi‑Yahs!
Good Thursday evening, Arlington. Let’s take a look back at today’s stories and a look forward to tomorrow’s event calendar.
The following articles were published earlier today — May 22, 2025.
Here is what’s going on Friday in Arlington, from our event calendar.
Expect a mostly sunny day with temperatures reaching around 67 degrees and a west wind blowing at 9 to 14 mph, gusting up to 23 mph. The night will be mostly clear with lows near 50 degrees and a west wind ranging from 6 to 11 mph. See more from Weather.gov.
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”
– Confucius
The MonumentCam screenshot above is used with permission of the Trust for the National Mall and courtesy of EarthCam.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to discuss the day’s happenings in the comments.
We’re ending Movie Nights on the Pike with a scream.
Join us at Penrose Square for a special outdoor screening of I Know What You Did Last Summer, the iconic summer slasher that became a defining horror film of the late 1990s.
An Arlington-based photographer has won a Pulitzer Prize for his photos of last summer’s assassination attempt on President Donald Trump.
Doug Mills, a lifelong Arlington resident who discovered his love of photography at the Arlington Career Center, took home the honor this month for photos including a “one-in-a-million” shot of a bullet in midair — an instant before it hits Trump’s ear.
The race for the next chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee has gotten off to an early start.
Tony Weaver, who previously sought the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Board in 2023, announced his candidacy earlier this month. He plans to host a formal kickoff event in the early summer.
Some spring-break travelers at Reagan National Airport had to scramble for alternate parking last month after all available spots filled up.
Airport officials expect the same situation on high-traffic days throughout the summer and are urging drivers to make reservations to ensure they get a parking spot.
The spring high-school sports season for Arlington’s private-school Bishop O’Connell Knights is complete, while the county’s three public-school teams are competing in region-playoff action over the next week.
The Wakefield Warriors, Washington-Liberty Generals and Yorktown Patriots all have teams or athletes entered in individual and team region competition, with one team playing in a district-tournament championship game Friday, May 23.
A rare real estate find is expected to hit the market in Arlington later this month: a “Missing Middle” home.
A duplex at 2129 N. Troy Street in North Highlands will begin hosting showings on May 30, according to a Redfin posting. The four-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home comes with 2,470 square feet and a listed price tag of $1,795,000.
