ECOHAB’s Taos Affordable Homeownership Pilot Project: A New Path toHomeownership in Taos

This column was originally published in the Taos News.

For many people who live and work in Taos, buying a newly built home can feel completely out of reach. Home prices and construction costs have risen much faster than local incomes, leaving even households with steady jobs struggling to find a home they can afford.

The ECOHAB Taos Affordable Homeownership Pilot Project, or TAHPP, is testing one way we can begin to close that gap. ECOHAB is building four new homes in Taos County, one at a time. The first home is expected to be completed in October. The first home will offer two bedrooms, two bathrooms and approximately 1,250 square feet of living space.

The homes are designed with long-term sustainability in mind. Passive solar orientation, climate-responsive architecture and adaptive construction methods will help lower heating, cooling and maintenance costs for years to come.

The effective sales price of the first home is $355,750. While that is still a significant investment, it is substantially below the price of most newly constructed homes in Taos County. According to the 2026 Taos County Housing Market and Needs Analysis, prepared by Sites Southwest for Taos County and THP, newly constructed homes had a median price of $687,000.

ECOHAB is contributing approximately $50,000 in donated time, labor and materials to each home. Housing New Mexico is providing $25,000 in subsidy for each home and has also made a low-interest revolving construction loan available to ECOHAB. The revolving loan helps ECOHAB build the first home and then reuse the repaid funds for the next one. Together, these contributions reduce the amount that must ultimately be passed on to the buyer.

THP provided technical assistance to help ECOHAB apply for and receive funding through Housing New Mexico’s Innovation Program. THP is now helping connect the homes with eligible buyers. We will work with interested households to review their income, analyze credit, explain the homebuying process, help them understand what financing may be available and identify their next steps toward purchasing a home.

The homes are intended for households earning no more than 150% of the Taos County area median income. Under the current limits, annual household income may be up to approximately $84,600 for a one-person household, $96,600 for a two-person household, $108,750 for a three-person household and $120,750 for a four-person household.

These are maximum income limits, not the amount a household must earn to qualify. A household’s ability to purchase a home will also depend on mortgage qualification, existing debt, available savings and other individual financial circumstances.

We encourage people not to rule themselves out before speaking with THP. Affordable homeownership programs can be difficult to understand from the outside, and every household’s situation is different. THP can help buyers determine whether they meet the program requirements and what steps they may need to take to become mortgage-ready.

This pilot is especially important because it serves people who are often caught in the middle of Taos’s housing market. Many local households earn too much to qualify for traditional affordable housing programs but still cannot afford most available homes. Others may fall within the income limits but cannot qualify for a mortgage large enough to purchase a home at today’s prices.

Four homes will not solve Taos County’s housing shortage, but this pilot is a big step forward. It gives our community a chance to demonstrate a model that works, understand what barriers remain and identify the resources needed to reach more people.

One clear lesson is that deeper subsidy and additional down-payment assistance could expand the number of local households able to participate. It could help buyers who meet the income requirements but cannot qualify for the full mortgage needed at the current price, while also allowing future homes to serve households at lower income levels.

Building on this pilot will take continued cooperation among builders, housing organizations, lenders, state and local governments, and the community. ECOHAB brings time, labor and materials. Housing New Mexico provides essential financial support, and THP helps navigate funding requirements and prepares prospective buyers for homeownership. No one organization can create attainable homeownership on its own, but when each partner brings what it does best, we can turn an out-of-reach idea into an actual home.

Contact Taos Housing Partnership at 575-770-3562 to learn about eligibility and begin the intake process. To see the home and learn more about its construction, contact ECOHAB at 575-770-9527 to schedule a tour.