Volume 23 l June 2021
 
Weekly eConnection
801 West Bay Drive, Suite 602 Largo, FL 33770
Tel: 727-584-2321 Fax: 727-586-3112
Chamber Happenings Edition
The Speakers Panel is NEXT WEEK! Register here
12th Annual Inspire Awards Nomination Form!
For Sponsorships, visit the Inspire Awards event page or contact the chamber at (727)584-2321
Coffee An' Networking
When: Tuesday, June 29th, 7:45 - 9 am.
Where: NAA, 6225 Ulmerton Road, Clearwater, FL 33760
FREE for Members; $25 for Non-members
Start your morning off with a networking and a leads exercise.
Register here: NAA Coffee An'
Thank you to our sponsors!
Hot off the press!
By now, you should have received your Chamber’s 2021-22 Business & Community Go-To-Guide. We’re very excited to have this publication to promote all our valued members who continue to support our efforts.
A special thanks to all our advertisers!
If you’d like additional copies, stop by the Chamber offices. They’ll also be available at upcoming events. 
Tampa Bay COVID Recovery Update!  June 8, 2021
The COVID-19 Regional Recovery Dashboard tracks the key economic metrics that help Tampa Bay residents and policymakers navigate the region's path to recovery.
It’s produced by the Tampa Bay Partnership.

Few, if any, sectors of our economy have rebounded from the depths of the pandemic more prominently than residential real estate. Today, we take a deeper dive into the data to view Tampa Bay relative to our 19 peer markets from the Regional Competitiveness Report and understand how the spike in housing demand and prices might impact our region's affordability and migration patterns.
Here are some of the highlights of our findings:
  • Tampa Bay ranked #5 out of 20 markets with its 19.4% increase in median sales price between March 2020 and 2021, on par with the U.S. average increase during this same period, yet well below top-ranked Austin, with its 30.2% growth.
  • The national real estate broker, Redfin, identifies Tampa Bay in the top 10 markets for migration, but most of our new residents are coming from Orlando. The top out-of-state origin market is New York.
  • While Tampa Bay has experienced a spike in the cost of housing, our household income, at $55,688, has remained relatively stagnant, putting the region in the bottom third of our 20 comparison markets when looking at the price of homes relative to household income, which is a key measure of affordability.
Florida restaurants are fighting to rebound after a tough year for the industry. A recent drop in jobless claims and the busy summer travel season are setting up the industry for a return to normal faster than some expected.
The National Hurricane Center is monitoring an area of the Caribbean Sea Monday morning where they expect to see a low pressure area with low odds of becoming a tropical depression or storm by the end of the week.
Governor Ron DeSantis has signed a $3.4bn deal to restore the freshwater preserve and President Joe Biden has earmarked funds to help
Florida will no longer update its COVID-19 dashboard that tracked the number of cases and deaths in the state. Its daily COVID-19 cases and vaccine reports have also stopped.
Over the last few months, a group of incarcerated men and women volunteered to help develop a new mentorship program for the prison system, aimed at better supporting people who are serving short, first-time prison sentences.
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Thank you to our Trustees and Newsletter Sponsors
Bay Care/Morton Plant Hospital
Cloud Law Firm PA
Duke Energy
Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital
Home Instead/Be a Santa
Jackson & Associates CPA
Melody Hunter, Charles Rutenberg Realty
MidFlorida Credit Union
National Aviation Academy
Nova Southeastern University - Tampa Bay
Paradise Air
Piper Fire Protection
Platinum Information Services
Regions Bank
The Palms of Largo
Valley National Bank
Village Inn
Wealth Builders
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