The OwnUtah Journal · Ivins & Southern Utah Real Estate

Housing Growth and Development in Washington County

Robert Bolar · October 30, 2026

Desert wash with green brush below red sandstone cliffs near Ivins, Utah

In August 2026, the National Association of REALTORS® and Utah REALTORS® released the Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, a poll of 500 registered voters on quality of life, housing costs, growth and development across the county that includes Ivins, St. George, Santa Clara, Hurricane and their neighbors. Statara designed and administered the survey. This article summarizes the presentation's published results, using its figures exactly as reported.

About the survey. 500 respondents (500 weighted), age 18 or older, who indicated they are registered to vote in Washington County, Utah. Interviews were conducted August 3–6, 2026: wireless (155), non-wireless (34) and online (311). The overall margin of error is +/-4.4%; the margin of error for subgroups is larger and varies. Percentage totals may not add up precisely due to rounding.
86%rate quality of life excellent or good
80%call housing affordability a very or fairly big problem
83%say affordable housing has become harder to find
89%concerned young people won't be able to afford to live here
63%favor redeveloping underused commercial areas for housing

Part I · Life in Washington County

Quality of Life: High Ratings, Mixed Trend

Nearly nine in ten respondents (86%) rate the county's quality of life as excellent (38%) or good (48%); 14% say just fair or poor. Looking back three years, 41% say quality of life has gotten worse, 42% say it has stayed about the same and 15% say it has gotten better.

Quality of life in Washington County (Q.4)
86%Excellent / Good
  • Excellent 38%
  • Good 48%
  • Just fair 12%
  • Poor 2%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Quality of life by homeownership, income and age
ExcellentGood
Total38%48%86%
Homeowner40%50%90%
Non-homeowner27%42%69%
Over $100K44%47%91%
Under $100K30%50%80%
Age 65+43%50%93%
Age 50–6436%53%90%
Under age 5035%45%80%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Quality of life in the past three years (Q.5)
Gotten betterAbout the sameGotten worse
Total15%42%41%
Non-homeowner6%39%53%
Homeowner18%44%38%
East10%40%50%
St. George16%42%40%
West17%44%38%
Men under 5018%32%48%
Women under 5010%46%43%
Women 50+15%44%40%
Men 50+16%50%33%
Age 65+15%52%32%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

What Voters Want Local Officials to Focus On

Asked to pick the single most important concern for local elected officials, respondents put managing growth and development (25%) essentially tied with water supply (24%), followed by housing costs (18%).

Most important concern for local elected officials (Q.6)
Managing growth and development25%25%
Water supply24%24%
Housing costs18%18%
Traffic and infrastructure11%11%
Jobs and wages11%11%
Local taxes6%6%
Wildfire risk and insurance costs1%1%
Other4%4%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Managing growth and development and the water supply are top of mind for voters.Executive Summary, Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey (August 2026)

Part II · Housing in Washington County

Housing Affordability Seen as a Big Problem

Eighty percent call housing affordability a very big (56%) or fairly big (23%) problem; 18% call it a moderate problem or less. The share rises to 91% among non-homeowners and 90% among women under 50.

Housing affordability problem (Q.7)
80%Very / fairly big
  • A very big problem 56%
  • A fairly big problem 23%
  • A moderate problem 11%
  • A slight problem 3%
  • Not a problem at all 4%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Housing affordability problem by group
Very big problemFairly big problem
Total56%23%80%
Non-homeowner79%12%91%
Homeowner51%26%77%
Under $100K63%20%83%
Over $100K52%29%81%
Women under 5067%23%90%
Women 50+58%23%81%
Men under 5058%19%77%
Men 50+41%28%70%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

What respondents hold most responsible

Among those who see affordability as a problem (N=482):

Most responsible for the housing affordability problem (Q.8)
Too many people moving here36%36%
Real estate developers and landlords28%28%
Cost of building supplies and labor14%14%
Government regulations and restrictive zoning6%6%
Lack of housing inventory5%5%
Not enough land for development2%2%
Other8%8%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Harder to Find, Across Income Levels

83% say it has become harder to find affordable housing over the past few years (62% much harder, 21% somewhat harder); 12% say about the same and 3% say easier.

Harder to find affordable housing (Q.9)
Much harderSomewhat harder
Total62%21%83%
Women under 5074%17%91%
Women 50+66%17%84%
Men under 5055%25%80%
Men 50+52%26%77%
Non-homeowner72%20%92%
Homeowner59%21%80%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Difficulty finding affordable housing, by income group (Q.10–11)
Income groupVery difficultSomewhat difficultSomewhat easyTotal difficult | easy
Lower incomes78%17%3%94% | 4%
Middle-class incomes44%44%8%88% | 10%

Concern About Being Priced Out

Concern about who can afford to live in Washington County (Q.12–14)
How concerned are you that…VerySomewhatNot tooNot at allConcerned | Not
Young people who grow up here will not be able to afford to live here as adults63%26%8%2%89% | 10%
Housing costs make it harder for teachers, nurses, public safety and other essential workers to live here54%32%9%4%86% | 13%
Seniors on fixed incomes may have difficulty staying because of housing costs, property taxes, insurance or maintenance46%32%13%6%78% | 19%

The groups most "very concerned" include women under 50 about young people (85%), women 50+ about seniors (61%) and college women about essential workers (69%).

Local employers

82% say housing costs are a problem for local employers trying to hire and keep workers: 56% a major problem and 26% a minor problem; 9% say not a problem and 9% are not sure.

Housing costs as a problem for local employers (Q.15)
82%Total problem
  • Major problem 56%
  • Minor problem 26%
  • Not much of a problem 7%
  • Not a problem at all 3%
  • Not sure / Don't know 9%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Voters are deeply concerned that housing costs are pricing people out of Washington County.Executive Summary, Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey (August 2026)

Part III · Personal Housing Situation

Monthly Housing Costs and Household Strain

58% say rent or mortgage is a significant (32%) or slight (26%) strain on their budget; 41% say not much of a strain (18%) or none at all (23%).

Financial strain of rent or mortgage (Q.16); right column = total strain
Significant strainSlight strainNot muchNo strain
Total32%26%18%23%58%
Women under 5049%34%12%5%83%
Men under 5038%24%18%18%62%
Women 50+25%23%20%30%48%
Men 50+14%23%23%39%37%
Non-homeowner62%26%7%4%87%
Homeowner24%26%21%27%51%
Kids in home39%30%18%14%69%
No kids in home26%23%19%30%50%
Under $100K40%23%16%19%64%
Over $100K23%32%20%25%55%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

79%personally know someone who has had difficulty finding affordable housing
64%have considered moving away, or have someone in their household or close to them who has
30%have personally considered moving away because of housing costs
56%of non-homeowners have personally considered moving
Considered moving away because of housing costs (Q.18)
64%Total yes
  • Yes, I have 30%
  • Yes, in household 10%
  • Yes, someone close 24%
  • No 30%
  • Not sure 6%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Part IV · Housing, Growth and Development

Agreement on the Problem, Skepticism About the Fix

The presentation describes voters as conflicted: they want more housing options but also want to limit new development.

Agreement with housing, growth and development statements (Q.20)
Strongly agreeSomewhat agree
Unaffordability will hurt quality of life58%29%87%
County needs more housing options46%33%80%
Should limit new housing development47%28%74%
More housing will reduce overall costs14%28%43%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

"Strongly agree" by gender and age (Q.20)
Strongly agreeTotalMen under 50Men 50+Women under 50Women 50+
Unaffordability will hurt quality of life58%58%38%78%57%
Needs more housing options46%45%35%53%53%
Should limit new development47%37%45%51%54%
More housing will reduce costs14%18%14%14%11%

Only 43% agree that building more housing will reduce overall costs, while 56% disagree. Agreement is highest among men under 50 (54%), college men (53%) and incomes over $125K (53%); disagreement is highest among college women (65%).

Voters are conflicted: they want more housing options but also want to limit new development.Executive Summary, Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey (August 2026)

Part V · Proposals

Which Housing Proposals Have Support

Redeveloping underused commercial areas is the most popular proposal tested; reducing lot-size requirements is the least.

Proposals to address availability and affordability (Q.25); right column = favor | oppose
Strongly favorSomewhat favor
Redevelop underused commercial areas23%40%63% | 29%
Streamline local permitting23%33%56% | 34%
Zoning for more multi-family housing14%32%46% | 51%
Reduce lot-size requirements10%25%35% | 59%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Support for proposals by gender and age (Q.25)
Total favorTotalMen under 50Men 50+Women under 50Women 50+
Redevelop commercial areas63%62%53%69%66%
Streamline permitting56%64%62%52%47%
Multi-family zoning46%54%44%42%44%
Smaller lot sizes35%40%34%26%40%

Part VI · Messaging

The Reasons Respondents Found Most Convincing

Reasons to support more housing options (Q.30)
Very convincingSomewhat convincing
Service workers should afford to live where they serve59%27%86%
Young people should be able to build lives here50%29%79%
Employers and services suffer when workers can't live nearby48%29%77%
More choices let seniors downsize or stay27%36%63%
Plan housing in existing communities vs. farther out23%36%58%

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026 (NAR / Utah REALTORS®; Statara).

Key Demographic Takeaways

As summarized in the presentation:

Respondent Profile

Survey demographics
CategoryBreakdown
Age18–29: 8% · 30–39: 17% · 40–49: 25% · 50–64: 17% · 65+: 32%
GenderWomen 51% · Men 49%
Owner / renterHomeowner 80% · Renter 14% · Lives w/ friends/family 5%
EducationNon-college 55% · 4-yr degree 24% · Post-graduate 20%
Kids in homeYes 43% · No 56%
RegionSt. George 50% · West 30% · East 20%
ReligionLDS 52% · None 16% · Other 28%

What This Means for Ivins Buyers and Sellers

For anyone weighing a move within Southern Utah, the survey offers a snapshot of how county voters view growth, housing costs and the policy options under discussion. For current listings and community details, see Ivins homes for sale, the Washington County real estate guide, St. George luxury homes, or the OwnUtah home page.

Related reading

Source: Washington County, UT Smart Growth Survey, August 2026, National Association of REALTORS® and Utah REALTORS®; survey designed and administered by Statara. Fieldwork August 3–6, 2026; n=500 registered voters; margin of error +/-4.4%. Figures are reproduced as published; totals may not add due to rounding.

Questions about what this means for your home or your search? I'm happy to talk it through. — Robert Bolar, 801-737-3333, Robert@OwnUtah.com

Categories: Washington County, Market, Housing, Growth
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