Deb Haaland, the former U.S. Interior secretary and Democratic nominee for New Mexico governor, toured a new affordable housing project Thursday in Albuquerque as she touted her plan to help reduce a statewide housing shortage if she is elected governor on Nov. 3.
Haaland toured nonprofit housing developer Homewise’s Sombra Del Oeste community, a partially completed 72-home development in southwest Albuquerque. With the help of local, state and federal subsidies, Homewise sells the townhomes replete with all-electric appliances and refrigerated air for between $300,000 and $350,000 to households earning 120% or less of the area median income. That’s roughly $120,000 for a family of four.
Homewise and the Mercatus Center, a think tank at George Mason University, released a report earlier this month that identified obstructive local zoning ordinances and permitting processes as the main barriers to building more developments like Sombra Del Oesta. The state faces a housing shortage of approximately 58,000 units, according to the report, and rents and home prices have risen dramatically in recent years…