Panel Hears Housing Trust Fund Results; Agency Seeks $135M for Next Year

Unidentified presenter before the Legislative Finance Subcommittee A outlined the New Mexico Housing Trust Fund’s work and a proposed $135 million request for fiscal 2027. The presenter said the program—now marking a 50th anniversary—has assisted hundreds of thousands of households over its history and has delivered $166 million of recurring funding that, combined with a special appropriation, helped more than 8,000 families in the last three years.

The presenter said the fund prioritizes eligible activities under the severance tax bond rules, reported a projected $16 million in program income over the next three years from loans and repayments, and described program income as regenerating resources. “We’re projecting, that in the next, 3 years, we’ll be having about, $16,000,000 of program income,” the presenter said.

Officials walked the committee through major program slices the trust fund supports: down‑payment assistance (a $30 million allocation assisting nearly 3,000 families), preservation activities including energy efficiency retrofits and the Energy Smart program, a Restoring Our Communities (ROC) infill/rehab program with roughly $3 million invested and an average rehab of about $47,000, and rental development and preservation that has produced a little more than 2,200 units with roughly $52 million invested. The presenter said the fund has a pipeline of approximately 56 developments totaling about 5,200 units across 20 municipalities in 14 counties, with a projected economic impact of about $1.3 billion and more than 16,000 jobs tied to those projects.

Committee members pressed on timing and local barriers. Representative Luhan asked whether zoning and municipal processes were slowing projects; the presenter answered that the authority leverages nearly 400 partner organizations statewide and that partners work early to resolve local permitting issues, while acknowledging that delays can increase project costs. The presenter highlighted Las Cruces as a municipality with efficient permitting that helps speed project delivery.

On potential new programs, the committee discussed an Appendix 2 concept for a low‑interest mortgage program modeled at a 3% rate. The presenter described preliminary modeling that suggested a $200 million program could assist more than 700 families and reduce monthly payments materially compared with market rates, but said those figures rest on assumptions and further work with Senator Munoz would determine whether the oversight committee or a legislator would bring legislation.

Next steps: the housing trust fund director indicated the board approved advancing a $135 million request to its oversight committee and that the agency will follow the legislative process if the oversight committee concurs. Committee members signaled interest in details about timelines, program design and how the fund will manage encumbrances and draw schedules before final action.