MFA Unveils Comprehensive State Housing Strategy to Address Growing Housing Needs

11 Oct, 2022

MFA Unveils Comprehensive State Housing Strategy to Address Growing Housing Needs

ALBUQUERQUE, NM —The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) recently unveiled its newly developed New Mexico Housing Strategy which outlines steps to address New Mexico’s housing crisis. The strategy was created over the span of a year in collaboration with the Housing New Mexico Advisory Committee, an MFA-led committee of leaders representing the full range of the housing services and programs. The strategy was developed after analyzing a comprehensive study of needs, resources and the gaps in housing.

“As the state’s housing agency, we saw the need to coordinate efforts across the housing continuum and we designed this committee and strategy to provide practical solutions to some industrywide issues,” said MFA Executive Director/CEO Isidoro Hernandez. “Developing this comprehensive strategy not only quantified the great need for housing in the state, but also developed the roadmap to close the gap and a call-to-action that helps align housing partners and advocates to work towards a common set of goals.”

The first-of-its-kind initiative for the state identified five key strategies needed to address the statewide housing crisis:

producing new housing;
preserving existing housing and redeveloping underutilized properties;
building homeownership opportunities, especially among low-and-moderate-income and racially and/or ethnically diverse households;
creating housing stability, especially for residents individuals vulnerable to, or experiencing, homelessness; and
advocating for effective federal housing policies and regulations.

A study identified a statewide shortage of 32,000 units for renters in some of the lowest income households. In addition, 218,471 New Mexico households were identified as “cost-burdened” – spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs. This included 100,858 households identified as “severely cost-burdened” – spending more than 50 percent of their income on housing. The study also estimated that 40,000 homes lack complete kitchens or plumbing, 5,140 new units per year are needed to accommodate growth by 2035, an estimated 15,000-20,000 experience homelessness including 9,000 children.

“It’s important to understand that these figures show how much housing is needed to keep the problem from growing, which means housing growth needs to outpace these figures to start addressing the issues,” said MFA Director of Policy and Planning Robyn Powell.

The Housing New Mexico Advisory Committee, a group of organizations from all different sectors of the housing industry, was established in the fall of 2021 with the purpose of fostering collaboration, problem solving, and breaking down the complexities of the housing market.

The New Mexico Housing Strategy can be found at: nmhousingstrategy.org.