Muni Sales Smash Record With $460 Billion of Debt Sold in 2024

State and local governments have sold more debt this year than ever before, borrowing roughly $460 billion since January.

That tally of long-term sales already surpasses the prior annual record of more than $457 billion in 2021, a year when benchmark tax-exempt rates were below 1%, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Including the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, there’s still five weeks of issuance left, meaning sales are poised to climb even higher.

It’s a shocking total as most market analysts expected around $400 billion of sales this year, according to a tally of annual forecasts from late 2023. The ...