By Hannah Grover
While many New Mexicans in the extreme low-income category face severe housing cost burdens, the percentage of those who do in the state is less than neighboring states.
A new fact sheet released by the University of Nevada Las Vegas examined the housing cost burdens for the lowest income residents in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada and Utah.
The fact sheet compiles data from the annual GAP Report, which the National Low Income Housing Coalition released in March.
While over two-thirds, 68%, of respondents in New Mexico who are in the extreme low-income bracket reported experiencing severe housing burdens, that was lower than the percentage from the other four states. The state with the highest housing burden was Nevada, where 86% of those who are considered extremely low-income reported facing severe housing burdens.
The study defined extreme low-income as being at or below either the federal poverty guidelines or at 30% of the area’s median income. Meanwhile, the severe cost burden is defined as when people spend more than half of their household income on housing costs.
People who face severe housing burdens may struggle to afford food or healthcare and are more likely to end up homeless.
The annual GAP report found that there’s a shortage of 7.1 million affordable, available rental homes in the country to serve the lowest-income renters. According to the report, nationwide there are only 35 affordable and available houses for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.
New Mexico fares a bit better than the national average when it comes to available and affordable housing. According to the UNLV fact sheet, there are 41 affordable and available houses for every 100 extremely low-income households.
According to information Housing New Mexico MFA provided in response to inquiries by NM Political Report, some of the factors influencing severe cost burdens for extremely low-income New Mexicans include rental rates, availability of jobs that offer living wages, availability of affordable housing and the household composition including size, number of children and whether the family is taking care of elderly or disabled relatives.
“While we believe that our shortage of homes/apartments for rent is too high, the shortage in Arizona and Nevada must be higher,” the organization said in an email.
New Mexico could also have lower rental prices than in states like Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado.
One difference between New Mexico and other states is the high percentage of mobile and manufactured houses compared to other states. According to Housing New Mexico, owners and renters of such units tend to spend a smaller percentage of their income on housing costs.
New Mexico also benefits from having a high percentage of home ownership, according to Housing New Mexico, and people with mortgages also tend to spend less of their income on housing than those who rent.
Housing New Mexico MFA, also known as New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, is dedicated to increasing access to affordable housing in the state. Each year, the organization releases a housing needs assessment.
While the state has engaged in efforts such as housing vouchers and supportive services that help people who have been diagnosed with mental health conditions, Housing New Mexico says there’s still more to do.
“We believe we still have lots of work to do to increase the supply of affordable housing,” Housing New Mexico MFA stated in its response.
While funds are being used to increase affordable housing, the organization says systems are needed to ensure the funding that is deployed actually leads to more affordable housing.
Housing New Mexico plans to continue its advocacy at both the state and federal levels to increase funding and resources and incentivize building more rental houses while also preserving existing housing.
At the local level, some of the municipalities and counties are modernizing their zoning and land use policies to allow for higher density housing, mixed-use properties and inclusionary zoning that requires affordable housing in new developments, Housing New Mexico said. Other measures local governments have taken include allowing accessory dwelling units and streamlining the permitting process, which reduces administrative costs.
“As a state, we should be doing more to encourage housing development at all income levels,” Housing New Mexico said in the email.