The city of Santa Fe might not get as much revenue from a proposed real-estate transfer tax as estimated.

Real-estate industry professionals say city staff used bunk data to sell elected officials on the idea of charging an excise tax on high-end home sales.

"It looks like there are some real questions about the information they have been sharing," said Donna Reynolds, director of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors.

The city, meanwhile, is fact-checking its research and says Realtors are relying on different boundary lines for their numbers.

Reynolds queried the association's Multiple Listing Service database last week after seeing a newspaper account of a city analysis on how the proposed fee would play out. The tax would only apply to home sales above $650,000, tacking a 1 percent charge to any portion of a sale over that threshold. While the city document reported 412 homes sold for near or above that price in 2007, data from the association showed only 239.

The association has opposed previous tax efforts, and although it has not taken a formal position on the current proposal, Reynolds said Tuesday that the group was trying to talk with city councilors about its concerns.

City staff used information provided by a "friendly Realtor" and compiled sales into price categories to come up with its estimates, according to Kathy McCormick, director of the Housing and Community Services Department.

McCormick said Tuesday that she was surprised at the data from the association and had not been contacted regarding a possible error. "Maybe that is something that we need to double-check," she said. "That's a huge difference."

Later Tuesday, McCormick said the city numbers include some home sales in Las Campanas, which is outside the city limits. She said the Realtor data, however, appears to have left out some high-end sales on Hyde Park Road, Bishops Lodge Road and off Old Pecos Trail that are inside city boundaries.

The City Council plans to hold a hearing June 25 on the proposal sponsored by Councilors Rebecca Wurzburger and Chris Calvert and Mayor David Coss. If the council votes in favor, voters would next be asked to weigh in.

Although the resolution on the table does not specify a date, backers have said they aim to hold a special election in August. Such an event would cost at least $90,000 and is strategically aimed to occur before the next state legislative session.

Based on the city data from last year, the tax would have brought in about $1.7 million had it been in place for 2007. Reynolds said those figures should be more conservative because of market slowdowns.

"They probably need to be looking at a more accurate reflection," she said. "I think they need to consider revising downward any kind of anticipated revenues."

While a majority of decision makers have already said they will vote in favor of taking the matter to voters, Realtors aren't the only people questioning the effort.

Councilor Matthew Ortiz was among dissenting votes on the City Council when it considered a similar proposal last year. Councilors decided against taking steps to put the issue on the regularly scheduled Municipal Election in March, but then faced state opposition when a local senator tried to pass a law to prohibit the action. State Sen. John Grubesic did not seek re-election and won't be part of the upcoming session, he noted.

Ortiz, who heads the city Finance Committee, said Tuesday night that he's not confident in the details of the revised proposal. "We need to know how much money is going to be raised. I think your estimate is too large," he said.

Money from the transfer tax would go into the city's affordable-housing trust fund, which helps with a range from home ownership to rentals and homelessness solutions. McCormick said the tax revenue stream, however, would be earmarked for "workforce housing," as reflected in its formal title the Workforce Housing Initiative.

About 44 percent of the city's essential workers commute from other communities, costing Santa Fe's economy more than $300 million a year, according to recent research.

City councilors are also considering a five-year housing plan that will outline goals and priorities for housing based on an assessment that was completed last year. The Finance Committee will hold a hearing on the plan this summer.

Ortiz questioned why an estimated 15 percent of revenue would go to administering programs, noting the cost of a special election could pay for a police officer. The city recently approved a budget that expands the police department without finding a sustainable revenue source to pay for the workers past the next fiscal year.

Advocates for the homeless have previously supported transfer-tax efforts because the money had potential to provide emergency shelter, transitional homes and rental apartments.

Hank Hughes, director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness, said Tuesday that he wasn't sure the current proposal was the right direction. "I would like to see money from the transfer tax being used for everything in that housing plan as needed or as priorities are set by the council and not have it limited to one or two aspects," he said. "If it excludes all possibility of any funding for rental housing, I can't support it."

Councilor Chris Calvert continues to favor the plan, he said Tuesday. "I still think it's a good idea because we need to try and get those folks that work here to live here," said Calvert. "It's a chicken and an egg thing. To get them to work here, there is that big factor of whether it is affordable."

Contact Julie Ann Grimm at 986-3017 or jgrimm@sfnewmexican.com.


Data from the city and from the Santa Fe Association of Realtors about the numbers of homes sold in 2007 do not match:

Price range City Association

$600,000 to $699,999 87 51

$700,000 to $799,999 84 51

$800,000 to $899,999 64 37

$900,000 to $999,999 36 14

$1 million to $1.9 million 120 71

$2 million to $2.9 million 20 13

$3 million to $3.9 million 3 2

Over $4 million 1 0

Total 415 239