OPINION: Housing funding from Legislature is a game changer for Albuquerque and Bernalillo County

Affordable housing was a big winner in the 2025 state legislative session. Among other major investments, the state budget bill includes $80 million for housing that will be shared by Bernalillo County (BernCo) and the City of Albuquerque (COA). The funding will be leveraged with other public and private revenues to increase the number of total housing units in the area. On behalf of the many county and city officials as well as the many community members who have supported a comprehensive solution to our unhoused crisis, we would like to thank the Legislature for their foresight and commitment to this urgent challenge. We urge the governor to support the proposed $80 million in the budget bill.

Because of the homeless and housing crisis across the nation and New Mexico, COA and BernCo have become the epicenter of homelessness and “home” to the state’s largest housing shortage. To tackle these crises, starting in 2022, the county and city created the Middle Rio Grande Housing Collaborative (MRGHC). In 2024 the county and the city began working together with state legislators and the governor to prioritize funding for affordable housing in the 2025 session. The joint request for significant state funding for housing in the largest urban area is vital to addressing the massive shortfall in housing of all types. We simply cannot solve homelessness or meet the growing housing needs of the region’s workforce, families or communities unless we move together boldly, with a major investment.

The consensus among most researchers, practitioners and other experts is that the best way to address the unhoused crisis is to build more affordable housing. That’s why cities and counties across the U.S. are seeking additional support from their state and national leaders to provide more funding for housing. According to a report by Housing New Mexico, by 2035 BernCo will need around 28,000 housing units; with about 4,900 affordable to 4-person households with income below $25,900 and 8,700 of them affordable for households with income below $43,200.

Federal standards suggest no more than 30% of monthly household income should go to housing costs, including utilities and insurance, to be considered affordable. That means area residents should not be spending more than $1,709 a month for housing. The average rent for a two-bedroom house in Albuquerque is $1,779, not including utilities or insurance. Since 2000, rent in New Mexico has increased by 80%, while wages have grown by 57%, according to a recent presentation by the Albuquerque Affordable Housing Coalition. Almost half of all renters are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of their income for housing.

BernCo and the COA have identified several potential affordable housing projects on which the two governments can expeditiously and efficiently collaborate to develop affordable housing. Potential joint projects represent more than $200 million in needed funding to bring priority projects to fruition.

To bolster capacity in the county, the Bernalillo County Commission is adding additional staff and professional contractors to implement the funding from the state and deliver more housing as quickly as possible. The city, county and MRGHC are committed to work in coordination with public, private and not-for-profit sectors to implement the acquisition, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse and new construction of affordable housing more rapidly at the scale and pace required to meet the established gaps in affordability and goals of the Urban Institute 2020 Needs Assessment; Homeless Coordinating Council and Housing Forward ABQ.

BernCo, the COA and the MRGHC stand ready to work together to meet this critical moment with tangible solutions to our state’s housing and homelessness crisis.