More Housing. More Choices.
More Opportunity for New Mexico.
New Mexico needs more housing that people can afford—in our cities, our rural communities, and everywhere in between.
The Housing Abundance! Coalition brings together organizations and leaders from across New Mexico to advance practical, research-based policies that help create more homes, make housing more attainable, and expand housing opportunities for New Mexicans.
Housing policy can be complicated. We’re working to make the challenges — and the potential solutions — easier to understand.
Get involved in the conversation.
New Mexico Needs More Housing
- Housing costs are rising faster than many New Mexicans’ incomes, while workers and young professionals struggle to find homes in the communities where they want to live and work.
- Several factors make it harder and more expensive to build the housing New Mexico needs, including regulatory requirements, financing and tax challenges, and infrastructure costs.
- There is no single solution. Housing Abundance! brings people together to identify practical, research-based ways to increase housing supply and make housing more attainable for New Mexicans.
What Is Housing Abundance?
Housing abundance means creating more opportunities for people to find housing that works for their needs and their budget.
Communities across New Mexico have different housing needs, and what works in one community may not work in another. Housing Abundance! is not advocating for one type of housing or a one-size-fits-all policy.
Instead, we support practical approaches that help communities produce more housing, a greater variety of housing, and homes at more attainable price points.
Four Priorities for Housing in New Mexico
Housing Ready Communities
Local zoning rules, permitting processes, development requirements, and infrastructure costs can add time, uncertainty, and expense to new housing.
The coalition supports giving communities the tools and technical assistance they need to modernize housing policies where appropriate, improve permitting transparency, reduce unnecessary barriers, and create clearer paths for housing development.
Potential approaches include more predictable approval processes, updating zoning rules, reconsidering parking and lot-size requirements where appropriate, allowing housing in more locations, and helping communities better track permitting timelines.
Why it matters:
When the process for building housing is clearer and more predictable, communities are better positioned to respond to local housing needs.
Bridge to Housing Attainability
Even when there is demand for new housing, projects can be difficult to finance and many households cannot afford today's rents or mortgage payments.
The coalition supports exploring programs that can help both housing production and housing attainability, including mortgage-rate assistance, down-payment assistance, infrastructure investment, and other financing tools.
Why it matters:
Building more housing is only part of the equation. New Mexicans also need realistic pathways to rent or own the homes being created.
Reforming Tax Policies That Discourage Housing Creation
Taxes can directly influence whether a housing project is financially possible.
New Mexico's Gross Receipts Tax applies to construction materials and labor, adding to the cost of building new homes. Multifamily properties can also face significant property-tax increases when they are built, sold, or substantially improved.
The coalition supports examining reforms that could make housing-related taxes more predictable and reduce barriers to new construction, reinvestment, and preservation of existing housing.
Why it matters:
When the cost of producing or maintaining housing rises, those costs can make projects harder to build and housing harder to keep attainable.
Rural Housing Development Incentives
Rural communities face different housing challenges than larger cities.
High infrastructure and site-development costs, limited local capacity, access to financing, and the difficulty of attracting private investment can prevent housing from moving forward even where there is demand.
The coalition supports additional technical assistance, infrastructure investment, site-readiness funding, grant-writing support, tax incentives, rehabilitation programs, and responsible financing tools designed around the needs of rural communities.
Why it matters:
Housing abundance must include all of New Mexico. Rural communities need tools that reflect their local economies, infrastructure, and housing needs.
Housing Policy Affects All of Us
Housing is about much more than buildings.
When there are not enough housing options, the effects can reach employers trying to recruit workers, communities trying to retain residents, families managing rising costs, and local governments planning for future growth.
The people affected include renters, aspiring homeowners, workers, small businesses, builders, local governments, and communities throughout New Mexico. The coalition's work is intended to help policymakers and the public better understand how housing production, affordability, infrastructure, taxation, and local regulations connect.
Better housing policy starts with understanding those connections.
A Cross-Sector Coalition for New Mexico
No single organization or industry can solve New Mexico’s housing challenges alone. Housing Abundance! brings together organizations and leaders from across the housing ecosystem to share perspectives and work toward practical solutions.
Together, the coalition provides a shared, nonpartisan framework to help New Mexicans understand housing challenges and gives policymakers practical ideas they can consider at the local, state, and federal levels.
Learn What's Happening With Housing in New Mexico
Housing policy is changing quickly, and there is a growing statewide conversation about what New Mexico can do differently.
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Coalition news, New Mexico housing research, media coverage, legislative updates, policy announcements, events, and opportunities to participate in the conversation.
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Help Advance Housing Education in New Mexico
The Housing Abundance! Coalition is a cross-sector initiative convened and administratively supported by the New Mexico Building Industry Institute, a 501(c)(3) organization.
Support helps expand public education, housing research, stakeholder engagement, regional conversations, and resources designed to help New Mexicans better understand the policies that influence housing availability and affordability.