This is the first installment of our monthly Housing Affordability Reality Check for Williamsburg-area residents. The goal is simple: combine market pricing, local policy movement, and permit/inspection operations into one practical snapshot.
February Snapshot: Prices are still high, but market pace is less frantic
Realtor.com’s December 2025 market summary for Williamsburg shows a median home price of $525,000 and median rent of $2,200/month. Active listings were up year-over-year (+25.27%), but average days on market also rose to 70 days (+22.81% year-over-year), suggesting buyers are still facing high prices even as listing velocity slows from peak intensity.
For renters, citywide median rent was down 1.65% year-over-year in that reporting period, but the level remains elevated for many local households.
Neighborhood/ZIP comparison: 23188 vs. 23185
- ZIP 23188: median home price $535,000; median rent $2,200; 232 homes for sale; 68 average days on market.
- ZIP 23185: median home price $495,000; median rent $2,100; 205 homes for sale; 72 average days on market.
That spread means residents looking west and north of the historic core are generally seeing a higher median sale price point, while 23185 remains somewhat lower on median pricing but still expensive for first-time buyers.
At the neighborhood level inside 23188, Realtor.com currently shows Ford’s Colony with a median home price around $822,450, underscoring how much affordability can shift block-by-block even within the same city-market label.
Policy pipeline: preservation and affordability tools are moving, but gradually
Recent local government actions still point to a phased strategy rather than a quick supply reset:
- York County is advancing the Penniman Road Housing Study using a $75,000 CDBG award to assess rehabilitation needs and phase future work.
- York County also reports completed outcomes from its Carys Chapel cycle: 14 home rehabs, one substantial reconstruction, and one demolition of a vacant structure.
- Williamsburg continues to reference implementation pathways from its affordable housing workgroup and One Williamsburg tracking framework.
Bottom line: policy is active, but most near-term impact remains in rehab/preservation and incremental pipeline work rather than a sudden increase in lower-cost inventory.
Permit/inspection operations: a supply-readiness signal to watch monthly
James City County’s Building Safety & Permits daily update for Feb. 23 reported 61 inspections scheduled that day. While this is not the same as monthly permit issuance totals, inspection volume is still a useful operations signal: it shows ongoing construction/renovation throughput and code-enforcement workload in the local housing system.
For this monthly series, we’ll track this operations side alongside listing/rent data and policy decisions. If a larger permit dataset becomes publicly machine-readable, we’ll add it as a standing chart.
What this means for residents now
- Buyers: inventory is higher than a year ago, but affordability is still stretched at current price levels.
- Renters: some softening appears in selected metrics, but headline rents remain high enough to pressure household budgets.
- Policy watchers: expect incremental progress via rehabilitation and targeted programs before major market-wide relief appears.
Sources
- Realtor.com Williamsburg market summary (reporting period: Dec. 2025): https://www.realtor.com/local/market/virginia/williamsburg
- Realtor.com ZIP 23185 market summary: https://www.realtor.com/local/market/virginia/zipcode-23185
- Realtor.com ZIP 23188 market summary: https://www.realtor.com/local/market/virginia/zipcode-23188
- York County Penniman Road Housing Study: https://www.yorkcounty.gov/4428/Penniman-Road-Housing-Study
- York County Carys Chapel Road Housing Rehabilitation: https://www.yorkcounty.gov/4639/Carys-Chapel-Road-Housing-Rehabilitation
- Williamsburg Affordable Housing Workgroup: https://www.williamsburgva.gov/960/2021-affordable-housing-workgroup
- Williamsburg One Williamsburg tracking page: https://www.williamsburgva.gov/1046/One-Williamsburg
- James City County Alert Center, Building Safety & Permits Daily Update (Feb. 23, 2026): https://www.jamescitycountyva.gov/AlertCenter.aspx?AID=10
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