In 2018, 9700 families in Santa Fe were paying unaffordable rents or mortgages, and 77% of renters earning less than $50k a year were paying unaffordable rents. Census rolls indicate that, between 2016 and 2018, the City has lost over 600 low income families to unaffordable housing rates.
 
Then the pandemic hit.
 
Santa Fe median home sales price set a record of over $535,000, a 20% increase from the same quarter in 2019 and County estimates show that roughly 65% of Santa Feans would not be able to buy a home today, based on their income. And last year, the County of Santa Fe and the Santa Fe Association of Realtors both released reports that painted a grim picture of the housing landscape and affordability in Santa Fe and the urgency we have to address it.
 
The message is clear: the time for action is now. 
 
During 2020, the Santa Fe Housing Action Coalition has been laser-focused on working with our membership and allies to ensure that the City of Santa Fe identify and commit a sustainable revenue source for the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. As such we have spent the year engaged in work to help us with this initiative. That work has included broad research into the structure and operation of affordable housing trust funds in cities across the United States; providing context for the housing crisis in Santa Fe; identifying potential revenue sources for the City’s AHTF and analyzing them for home-rule application; & holding necessary conversations with elected leaders about the urgency of exploring and identifying potential revenue sources that could fund the trust fund. 
 
In our effort to ensure our initiative to address the housing crisis in Santa Fe succeeds, we have finalized a housing report that frames the housing crisis in Santa Fe and outlines the opportunity that our City leadership has to address it in the short-, mid- and long-term. With an outline in hand, we are hopeful and optimistic that we can work with City leadership to prioritize housing and fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund now. 
 
We encourage you to read the report and express your support for Funding the Trust Fund with Mayor Webber and your Councilors.