ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – At a news conference today, officials from Housing New Mexico commemorated its 50th anniversary by recognizing April 10 as the day Gov. Jerry Apodaca signed House Bill 88 during the state’s 32nd legislature on April 10, 1975, enacting the Mortgage Finance Authority Act. Rep. Adele Cinelli Hundley recruited two other legislators in 1975 to get the proposed housing agency legislation passed. Reps. Hundley, Raymond Sanchez and Edward Lopez introduced the bill.
“The fact that we have served over 505,000 New Mexicans since our inception in 1975 is due in large part to the hundreds of partnerships we have with service providers, lenders, developers, Realtors, housing authorities, local governments, Tribal partners and more,” said Housing New Mexico Executive Director/CEO Isidoro Hernandez. “The impact we have had would also not have been possible without the support of our legislators, governors and board members – as well as the hard work of our dedicated staff – over the years.”
In its 50-year history, Housing New Mexico has impacted New Mexicans as follows:
- 27,371 homes built
- 34,359 homes preserved through rehabilitation or weatherization
- 72,668 families that became homeowners through first mortgage and down payment assistance programs
- 122,425 people and families who received rental assistance
- 10,557 families that received mortgage assistance through the Homeowner Assistance Fund
- 238,546 people who received homelessness prevention or support services
- 505,926 total people, families and homes impacted
The economic impact of Housing New Mexico’s investment in these affordable housing initiatives has been conservatively estimated to be more than $4.3 billion and has supported over 43,800 jobs.
After 49 years of operating as New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the quasi-governmental agency rebranded to Housing New Mexico in July 2024 to better reflect its diversity of programs across the housing continuum, from homelessness to homeownership. While its legal name remains New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, Housing New Mexico more accurately encompasses its vision that all New Mexicans will have quality, affordable housing opportunities. In addition to providing mortgage and down payment assistance, Housing New Mexico has grown immensely over the years, providing funding for specialized and transitional housing, multifamily development, single-family development, rehabilitation and weatherization for homeowners, and more.
“We are strong believers that housing is the foundation for strong families and communities,” said Hernandez.
To commemorate five decades of providing housing opportunities, Housing New Mexico launched a 50th anniversary web page on which “50 Stories from 50 Years” are being shared. A “50 Stories from 50 Years” social media campaign began March 26 and will feature two stories per week through Sept. 17. The 50th anniversary celebration will culminate at the 2025 New Mexico Housing Summit Sept. 17-19 in Albuquerque. The summit will offer three days of educational workshops, networking events and keynote speakers to over 500 professionals from all sectors of the state’s housing industry.
At the news conference, Hernandez also highlighted Housing New Mexico’s newest single-family development program – the Zero Interest Homebuilder Program (ZIHP), which was recently launched to address the shortage of affordable entry-level housing available to low- and moderate-income homebuyers in the state. ZIHP is a loan product that offers interest-free construction financing through the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund.
As home price increases outpace wage growth, the ability to achieve homeownership becomes more difficult, resulting in a huge need for affordable housing.
“With this new program, our intention is to promote the development and sale of entry-level homes priced appropriately for their markets,” said Hernandez. “We have received much interest and are optimistic that eligible developers and builders will take advantage of this zero-percent interest rate construction loan, and ultimately, provide more homeownership opportunities for New Mexicans.”
ZIHP development and construction loans may be used to assist in financing a wide range of activities to increase affordable homeownership opportunities, including costs of on-site infrastructure necessary to support the development of affordable single-family lots and/or the construction of affordable homes.
These loans are available to nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, governmental housing agencies, regional housing authorities, governmental entities, governmental instrumentalities, tribal governments, tribal housing agencies, builders, single-family developers, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships, joint ventures, syndicates and other eligible associations or entities.
To learn more about eligible loan applicants, loan terms, application procedures, eligible home types, eligible homebuyers, sales price limitations and other details, visit the Housing New Mexico website. For further questions about ZIHP, email Housing New Mexico Program Manager Joshua Howe at jhowe@housingnm.org.