Mortgages

Daniella Levine Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida, talks with Chip Barnett about the county's robust economy as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. She talks about how the seaport and airport are booming and looks at some challenges ahead such as environmental and housing issues. Taped live in Miami on Dec. 7. (10 minutes)

In the letter addressed to House congressional leaders, members urged leadership to expand the affordable housing credit and lower the PAB requirement.

"We continue to see very strong job numbers. Florida is in as good of a position as we could possibly be," said Jimmy Heckman of the state Department of Economic Opportunity.

Putting a county government into the real estate development business goes beyond making the numbers work.

Larry Kosmont, chairman and CEO of Kosmont Companies, discussed the interplay between state and local governments as electeds work to solve the state's housing crisis with Keeley Webster, a senior reporter for The Bond Buyer. (18 minutes)

At 2.5%, Florida's September unemployment rate is the second lowest in the state's history and the lowest since October 2006.

City leaders announced the availability of 30,000 Section 8 housing vouchers this week.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of housing legislation headlined by bills removing regulatory barriers to new-home construction.

Guilford County's request for a $1.7 billion voter-approved bond package, however, was put on hold until the next Local Government Commission meeting.

The shift towards flexible and remote work as a result of COVID-19 has already begun to reshape cities, moving concentration away from the centralized business districts.

Investors will be greeted Tuesday with a larger new-issue calendar, estimated at $6.087 billion, up from total sales of $5.551 billion in the week of Aug. 29.

Nearly all construction firms have job openings, and more than half said they're seeing projects being scaled back, postponed or canceled.

The Miami metro area saw the most private-sector job growth among all metro areas in the state in June and year-over-year.

Tom Wright, president and CEO of the Regional Plan Association, talks with Chip Barnett about the ongoing Gateway transportation project and its importance to the tri-state region. He also discusses the challenges and opportunities in transit, infrastructure, affordable housing, climate change and ESG. (30 minutes)

Included in the Democrats’ all but dead Build Back Better bill, an expansion of the low-income housing tax credit could be a boon for the housing sector.

Lawmakers approved the first $500 million for the program as a trailer bill to the fiscal 2023 budget. Bonds may be used to fill the gap.

Maui County's mayor now has to approve or veto the budget before the start of the fiscal year on July 1.

Ten states, includeing five in the Southeast, pre-pandemic employment levels in January, according to Fitch Ratings. In an update, the U.S. Labor Department reported Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.3% in February.

Market volatility has risen significantly, particularly in the last several weeks, with daily Treasury yield swings of 10 basis points or more becoming the norm with municipals struggling to stabilize.

Buyers appeared to return to the market the past two sessions after the January correction moved yields and ratios higher. Secondary trading was up again on Wednesday and new deals were well-received.