Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is trying once again to create an Office of Housing within the executive branch of state government after failing in last year’s legislative session. The proposed legislation is designed to ease restrictions and get projects done quicker, in order to reduce New Mexico’s housing shortage.
According to an analysis done by the Pew Research Institute, New Mexico’s homeless population has increased by 87% since 2017. This increase is more than double the national average. The median rental price has gone up by 60% in that same time.
What is the state doing wrong? Mike Loftin is the CEO of Homewise, a non-profit that helps people achieve homeownership and also develops housing. He says there just isn’t enough affordable housing.
“When you build more homes that people can afford to buy, they’re almost always leaving a rental unit … that becomes available for the other person who is in a place to rent,” Loftin said.
This is a cycle, he said, where everyone wins.
So how would the Office of Housing help this strategy? Daniel Werwath is housing policy advisor to the governor and said the office could help cities strategize around regulations and codes to get housing built faster.
“It’s something that every community is talking about, and a lot of times they just don’t know where to start,” Werwath said.
Taylor Cook is the newly appointed director of homeless initiatives for the state and said the lack of resources have helped cause the housing crisis.
“Where you see housing prices escalating, you see homelessness tick upward,” Cook said.
Loftin said having an office like this is a smart move.
“I think what we need is somebody at the state level thinking,” he said, “thinking through strategy for housing to produce new housing, to understand what kind of stuff do we need, what is in the way of doing the housing.”
Senate Bill 205 is in the Senate Health and Public Affairs committee. It seeks $2 million for a starting staff of six in the new office. The bill also includes an emergency clause that would have the office open by May.
An in depth look at the bill is available at Source New Mexico.
This story was published by KUNM as part of a collaboration between KUNM and UNM’s Statehouse Reporting Project.
Mia Casas is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English with minors in Journalism and Theatre at the University of New Mexico. She became a student reporter at KUNM News in 2023 after she was awarded a New Mexico Local News Internship.
