- Voters cleared at least $67B of the $84B in bond measures put to them on Nov. 3, the largest slate for a midterm and above the roughly $81B proposed in 2024.
- California’s two measures were the biggest: $25B in revenue bonds for home-buying help and an $11.25B general obligation bond for affordable housing.
- Higher construction costs and aging infrastructure are pushing borrowing up, but more rejections, including two large Texas school packages, show voter tolerance for tax increases has limits.
Voters just green-lit a wave of public borrowing for schools, housing and civic buildings. They backed at least $67B of municipal bond sales on Nov. 3, based on Bloomberg’s review of preliminary S&P Global Market Intelligence tallies.
That came from $84B on the ballot. Last year’s referendum total was only about $16B, and 2024’s was roughly $81B.
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Where the Money Goes
California’s two giants passed. Proposition 37 sets up a $25B revenue-bond program to help people buy homes, while Proposition 1 is an $11.25B GO issue for below-market housing.
Dearborn, Michigan, schools won $1.5B for renovations and new buildings. A $420M fire-facility measure in Snohomish County, Washington, was expected to pass.
Why the Totals Keep Rising
Issuers have already sold more than $500B of long-term debt this year, roughly 6% ahead of 2025’s pace, per Bloomberg data. The market expects $600B by December.
Aberdeen Investments’ Miguel Laranjeiro said in Bloomberg’s report that inflation has lifted construction and materials costs, so the same projects now need more borrowing. He expects a third straight record year of issuance.
Aging infrastructure adds to the need for upgrades, which compounds the cost effect.
Rejections Are Growing
Texas voters turned down a $1.6B Cypress-Fairbanks school package and a $952M Irving one. Franklin Templeton’s Jennifer Johnston noted that more measures are failing even as approvals add up.
She added that many Texas communities genuinely need new facilities, which leaves districts struggling to plan for enrollment growth when voters say no.
She linked the defeats to voters’ fear of tax hikes, including in booming states where classrooms are filling up.
Zoom Out
Developers have watched the housing votes closely. Before Election Day, our brief on California’s Proposition 1 relayed EAH Housing’s argument that the bond targets the shortfall between construction costs and what affordable rents can carry.
EAH’s Welton Jordan said predictable public money helps unlock tax credits and private capital, the usual building blocks of affordable deals.
Why It Matters
Voter-approved bonds feed contractors, land markets and development pipelines for years. Because costs have climbed, each approved dollar covers less, so many agencies will need to return to voters.
California’s two measures alone total roughly $36B, more than half of the approved volume, so housing finance in one state is driving the national headline.
The Texas rejections also show that population growth doesn’t guarantee support for new debt. School districts there face rising enrollment without the funding to match.
What’s Next
Tallies are preliminary and final approved totals could move. Issuers are on track for another record year of municipal sales.
