The report was presented by several researchers at a Thursday event hosted at the University of South Florida.

In some cases, residents are being charged more than double what they typically pay. Last week, city council members fast-tracked the issue for futher discussion on Feb. 20.

In a 7-0 vote, the council reallocated $3.2 million from State Housing Initiative Program (SHIP) dollars toward the creation of a citywide fund.

These are some of the details from the annual Point-in-Time Count of those experiencing homelessness. About 280 volunteers walked St. Petersburg's streets to gather the information.

Tampa Hope is the first homeless facility to receive an OnMed CareStation, an 8-by-11-foot pod quipped with thermal imaging, medical devices to take vitals and a camera to speak with teleheath providers.

About 40 housing providers set up shop at the Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg to attend the hurricane recovery rental housing fair. The city partnered with the Bay Area Apartment Association to host the public event on Jan. 22.

Prices grew at a rate of 1.6% in the Tampa metro area over the past year. That's less than the national inflation rate of 2.9%, according to the latest data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

There's been a sharp increase in pet surrenders for economic reasons to SPCA Tampa Bay since 2021, according to internal shelter records.

The Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee heard from a panel of experts, including a Tampa-based engineer, on how the recent condo laws are impacting the industry.

The housing market in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan statistical area (MSA) dropped 19 spots in the hottest-market forecast for 2025, according to an analysis by Zillow.

The Social Security Fairness Act was recently signed into law. The bipartisan legislation repeals a pair of decades-old provisions and increase monthly benefits for some retired public sector workers.

William Luther is an associate professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University. He told WUSF that early economic signals spell out uncertainty for 2025.