FARMINGTON, NM - New Mexico has found itself ranked low on another list, this one for affordable housing. Despite San Juan County scoring a decent grade in the regional report, local housing officials claim the area is in the middle of a troubling trend. The state is facing an affordable housing crisis with lower income families having to work an average of 2.5 jobs just to pay rent. According to the 2008 Colorado College State of the Rockies Report Card, released earlier this month, nearly 60 percent of New Mexico's 33 counties earned "D's" and "D minuses," the lowest scores possible.
Affordability in the report was determined as the difference between the fair market rent for a two-bedroom home or apartment and what a family at the median income for the county could afford. Santa Fe is one of the least affordable places to live in the eight-state region, the report states, with less than 20 percent of homes affordable for those earning a median income. San Juan County scored a C-plus, but local housing experts say that's not good enough. "There is a huge gap between wages and housing in Farmington and San Juan County," said Rosalyn Fry, housing director for the Economic Council Helping Others in Farmington. "Anything over 30 percent of a family's income is just too high. We don't have enough housing units and the rental prices are going through the roof."
The fair market rent for a two-bedroom unit in San Juan County is $571, according to the report. The median income affordable rental rate is calculated at $664, leaving a $93 surplus. However, a draft of the city of Farmington, San Juan County Housing Needs Assessment paints a bleaker picture: Housing costs rose between 62 percent and 115 percent, depending on the rental property, from 2000 to 2007. The average wage increased by 23 percent, forcing renters to pay more for what they had, or move into homes with less space. Housing stock declined sharply over the past seven years, making affordable housing unattainable for many families.
Jay Peterman Jr., associate planner in Farmington's Community Development Department, and author of the needs assessment, said that almost half of all the city's renters, about 4,000 households, pay more than 30 percent of their gross income on rent. Of those, Peterman said 2,486 households spend more than 50 percent of their gross income on rent. "We simply don't have enough housing units to support continued growth," he said. "Seven years ago there were almost 250 two bedroom units available for rent in April. This year there were 97 units and I'll bet they've been rented."
"We may be at a C-plus now," he said. "But if things keep going as they are we could see a change for the worse."Lack of housing stock and rising housing prices exacerbates the issue, he said. "I saw a three-bedroom townhome stay on the market for 36 hours and was rented for $1,150 per month," he said. "Property moves very fast." On a more positive note, Peterman said that mobile homes remain an affordable option for most income brackets and that although the sub-prime mortgage crisis has hurt other communities, Farmington remains relatively unaffected.
Source: Daily Times