By Robert Nott and Nicholas Gilmore, The Santa Fe New Mexican

In a state dominated by concerns about education, crime and poverty, there is another consistent challenge that has been rapidly climbing its way to the top tier of worries:

Housing — particularly affordable housing. 

A study commissioned in 2022 by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority said there is a shortage of 32,000 affordable units for low-income households in New Mexico. The study says the lack of affordable housing not only hinders household self-sufficiency and economic growth but also impedes economic development.

Housing prices and rental rates have been increasing quickly over the past few years. Median home prices in the Santa Fe area alone still hover around the half-million-dollar mark while the average hourly wage for the Santa Fe metropolitan area is about $25, according to spring 2022 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Data. 

Two leading state senators want to do something about that during this year’s 30-day legislative session, scheduled to start at noon Tuesday.

One wants the state to create a new housing office to come up with a strategic plan for solving the issue. The other wants the Legislature to approve $500 million to the state’s housing trust fund.

Both agree affordable housing is a key to ensuring public safety, supporting economic development and attracting workers to New Mexico.

“It affects our workforce,” said Sen. Nancy Rodriguez, D-Santa Fe, who introduced the legislation to appropriate $500 million to the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund, which is under the Mortgage Finance Authority. The fund is designed to help finance affordable housing initiatives through low-interest rate loans, mortgage assistance and construction loans to companies wanting to build affordable housing in New Mexico communities.

“The impact [of lack of affordable housing] goes so far — domestic violence, mental health, the health of families, the unhoused,” Rodriguez said in an interview. “Look at families who may be dealing with depression, financial challenges, social ills — not having a house has got to negatively impact these families.”

Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, who introduced legislation to create the state Office of Housing, echoed that thought. The possibility of owning a home is part of the American Dream, he said, and not having a shot at that goes far beyond missing out on that dream. 

“We have to solve our housing crisis because it lends itself to so many other issues and problems,” he said. 

The proposed department would, among other measures, work to provide affordable workforce housing and hire a director (not a Cabinet secretary) who would develop a housing action plan for the state by July 1, and then provide subsequent plans once a year. The estimated startup cost to get the department going is $1 million, Padilla said in an interview. Padilla said he has Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s support on the initiative.

Housing advocates are praising both bills in an environment in which housing makes all the difference when it comes to both safety and economic development. After all, they ask, how can you live and work in a community if you cannot find or afford housing?

Nicole Martinez, executive director of the nonprofit Mesilla Valley Community of Hope, which oversees a city-approved encampment for the unhoused near Las Cruces, said there is often not enough incentive for builders to come in and “build something that will help the community.”

But those developers can use “gap” money from the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund to make up whatever budgeting shortages they face in an effort to build rental units, she said. Rodriguez’s $500 million proposal can help fill in that gap bucket, she said.

She said Rodriguez’s bill is particularly important as Martinez sees more out-of-state entities which may be creating additional barriers — administrative and holding fees for renters — to affordable housing.

Meanwhile, Daniel Werwath, a housing developer and advocate for affordable housing development, said in an interview Padilla’s proposed housing office would help small developers do what can only be done now by larger, out-of-state developers. 

Werwath said he and other housing advocates helped shape Padilla’s bill with the hope the office, if it becomes a reality, will “study, evaluate and coordinate housing across jurisdictions statewide, including housing investment, development, infrastructure, revitalization, equity, stability, quality and standards.”

He said the original proposal came together in Lujan Grisham’s Housing Investment Council, to which he was appointed last year and which also includes Padilla.

“The big goal was to come up with some key solutions that are going to address not just affordability but housing availability in general,” Werwath said.

He said one “big deterrent” hindering much-needed development — especially for smaller operators — is the upfront cost of building infrastructure including roads, bridges and streetlights for housing developments. Loans for such projects tend to be risky, he said, and the assets are usually turned over to the city or county over time.

An Office of Housing could help coordinate housing infrastructure projects around the state, he said, and steer more funds where needed. 

These will likely not be the only housing proposal pitched during the session. Already Lujan Grisham’s proposed budget includes putting $250 million in nonrecurring money into the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund.

And Sen. Roberto “Bobby” Gonzales, D-Rancho de Taos, has introduced a bill to appropriate $500,000 to help the New Mexico Mortgage Authority support the state’s Affordable Housing Act.

Martinez said it’s past time to do something about the problem.

“Housing has been neglected for a long time, and not just in New Mexico,” she said. “I think the housing issues in the state have risen to the forefront.”