Trends in the Regions

The nonprofit Wood River Community Housing Trust uses municipal bonds as part of its toolkit to finance workforce housing in the pricey Sun Valley, Idaho, area.

The Southeast has many of the largest ports and cargo airports in the country along with extensive foreign investment that creates exposure to trade turmoil.

Iowa is considering two bills to expand disaster assistance to local communities, including via a revolving loan fund that may be funded with bonds.

The Lone Star state, the nation's largest exporter of goods, could be hit economically by a tariff war, particularly with Mexico, its biggest trading partner.

Maryland lawmakers proposed a new tax on business-to-business transactions to close a $3 billion budget gap amid the firing of thousands of federal employees.

The $550 million deal from an issuer with two triple-A ratings includes about $250 million for refunding and an $85 million taxable piece.

With at least one important aquifer reaching peak allowable draw this year, Florida's water utilities are looking at a variety of infrastructure approaches.

Illinois will sell $725 million of junior sales tax revenue bonds in a competitive deal pricing Tuesday. The Build Illinois bonds will fund capital projects.

Texas, Oklahoma, and other Southwest states would jump on the bitcoin bandwagon amid a nationwide surge in bills to invest public money in cryptocurrencies.

It was 2024's biggest national conduit. You may not have heard of it. New Hampshire's National Finance Authority has become a big issuer with a low profile.

Issuance in the Far West was up 30.8% year-over-year to $98.9 billion. Muni market observers say issuers tried to beat the uncertainties of the election.

Volume in the Southeast was up 46% in 2024, led by Florida, where municipal bond sales more than doubled to $27.49 billion.

Issuers in the eight-state region sold $103.3 billion of bonds last year, with Texas deals accounting for $68.13 billion of the debt.

Most states and sectors in the region beat their 2023 issuance by wide margins in 2024. 

Amid struggling office markets in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the cities are exploring office-to-residential conversions amid decades-old housing shortages.

KBRA raised the airport's outlook to positive last week, citing its improving financial profile and very strong traffic.

In a first for the Midwest, a southern Illinois city plans to redevelop a mall using proceeds from sales tax and revenue bonds.

Texas officials are eying ways to protect a massive state-funded school property tax cut from being eroded by local bond issues and tax increases.

Sweetwater Union High's rocket-fast transformation from an accounting practices bad apple to ratings upgrades and positive outlooks is expected to boost its bond program.

DeSantis' proposed all government activities budget is 2.5% lower than the current year's budget.