Nearly half of all New Mexico renters and 20% of homeowners statewide are “cost-burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent, mortgage payments and other housing expenses, according to a new government report.
Officials with Housing New Mexico, also known as the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, spent Monday morning presenting to a government oversight committee made up of elected leaders from both chambers of the state Legislature. They touted the progress New Mexico has made with addressing affordable housing needs statewide, and recommended that state lawmakers scrutinize zoning regulations and cut red tape to facilitate speedier construction of affordable developments.
The state, through a housing trust fund, has invested nearly $154 million in about 10,000 households since 2023, Housing New Mexico Senior Director of Policy and Planning Robyn Powell said during a hearing at the agency’s Albuquerque office.
Powell and her colleagues made the case that the Legislature’s funding of statewide housing programs is working and, in CEO Isidoro “Izzy” Hernandez’s words, issued a “plea for more.”
The Legislature typically gives Housing New Mexico $40 million annually in “gap financing,” a term for subsidies that go to developers who build affordable housing projects, but an extra $30 million in gap financing could double the number of affordable units built in the next three to five years, Powell said.
Panelists briefed lawmakers on how the cost of homeownership has significantly increased in recent years. A 20% down payment on the median New Mexico home is $67,000, compared to $47,000 in 2020, according to Housing New Mexico’s report. In the Los Alamos and Santa Fe areas, a 20% down payment often exceeds $100,000. Lawmakers and Housing New Mexico officials attributed rising housing costs to inflation and building material costs that remain stubbornly above pre-pandemic levels.
“This is the new normal,” Powell said.
As for rent, low-income renters face a particularly tight market, because when they get priced out of one development, there may not be a comparably priced apartment or rental home nearby. Data in Monday’s report showed a roughly 5% vacancy rate for rentals priced at $800 per month, compared to a nearly 26% vacancy rate for rentals at $2,000 or more.
Rep. Kathleen Cates (D-Rio Rancho) told Powell that she was “sure” wages across the state have not kept pace with that rise in expenses.
“I live in a multi-generational home. I have an 83-year-old mom and a brother and a daughter who tease me that it’s a boarding house,” Cates said. “But we are privileged enough to be able to have that” in light of the current cost of housing.
Since 2022, though, state housing programs have helped to create more than 1,000 affordable units statewide and have rehabilitated about 800 homes in deteriorating conditions, Hernandez told lawmakers. He said state services have also helped 2,400 low-to-moderate income families buy houses and helped 3,200 households avoid homelessness.
“Despite the ongoing challenges, there has been some very meaningful progress,” Hernandez said.
Panelists Monday also identified two housing bills Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed into law after the 2026 legislative session as potential boons to the state’s efforts on affordability.
House Bill 200 established the New Homes for New Mexico program, which offers downpayment assistance to low- and moderate-income families buying a new build. It offers up to $50,000 in assistance in most New Mexico counties and up to $75,000 in more expensive areas, such as Santa Fe, Taos and Los Alamos counties.
Senate Bill 151 created gross receipts tax exemptions on construction materials and labor for affordable multifamily developments that adhere to certain criteria.
The state has spent record amounts of money on housing projects in recent years. One lawmaker during Monday’s meeting said leaders ought to keep close track of how those investments perform.
Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero (D-Albuquerque) said she wants the Mortgage Finance Authority Act Oversight Committee or Legislative Finance Committee to conduct an analysis of “how well” the Legislature’s “unprecedented” amount of affordable housing funding has fared.
“We need to maybe chart out the amount of funding we’ve given,” she said. “I want to associate funding with outcomes.”
