The staff of Housing New Mexico, formerly known as the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, gathered in Albuquerque on Wednesday to unveil their new logo and name. At a legislative committee meeting the following day, a proposal was endorsed to allocate $500 million to the agency to address the state’s housing affordability crisis.
However, based on past sessions, it’s unlikely the full amount will be approved when lawmakers meet in January.
The state currently faces a shortage of at least 32,000 affordable homes, and about 20,000 people experience homelessness annually, according to recent estimates.
The requested $500 million would go to the Housing Affordability Trust Fund, supporting programs like down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, housing development, and rehabilitation.
This request follows a record $200 million housing investment made earlier this year, including loans for workforce housing and affordable housing infrastructure, funding for homelessness initiatives, and support for other programs.
Senator Nancy Rodriguez (D-Santa Fe), who is retiring after 28 years, initially proposed the $500 million request earlier this year. She has long advocated for bolstering the trust fund, which has historically received limited funding. Over the years, the agency has received about $21 million between 2005 and 2021.
Rodriguez praised the trust fund’s return on investment of 17-to-1, leveraging federal and private funding. While the full requested amount is rarely approved, lawmakers allocated $50 million for the agency last year, in addition to $38 million annually from severance tax bonds.
Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Legislature also debated funding requests last year, with the governor’s office seeking its own housing agency. Ultimately, lawmakers approved $50 million, a decision influenced by the Legislative Finance Committee’s recommendation.
Since then, Housing New Mexico has received over $122 million, with 73% allocated and 21% spent, including about $15 million in down payment assistance.
If the $500 million request is fully funded, Hernandez, the agency’s director, estimates that 10,500 more individuals could be helped, building on the 20,000 the agency currently serves. A key difference this time is that 10% of the funds would be dedicated to local governments, encouraging them to modify zoning ordinances to support affordable housing development.