From left: Governor Rick Scott and President Barack Obama

Florida Governor Rick Scott is using President Barack Obama’s visit to the state to deliver a simple message: pay up. [more]

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If swing state voters make housing issues their only priority, Gov. Mitt Romney will pick up the majority of Electoral College votes in those states – but President Barack Obama will still have enough votes nationwide to win the election, according to an analysis from RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac, a distressed listings data provider, crunched the numbers to see which candidate would prevail among real estate voters living in eight toss-up states: Iowa, Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Virginia, Nevada and New Hampshire. The firm compared the performance of five housing metrics – average home prices, unemployment rates, foreclosure inventory, foreclosure starts and share of distressed sales – between September 2008 and September 2012. [more]

From left: Pres. Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney

Asking prices in six of seven swing states have increased year-over-year, Trulia reported, adding that this could be good news for President Obama. The swing states were designated by political data site RealClearPolitics.com.

Two such states, Nevada and Florida — the center of the foreclosure crisis — have seen 7 and 6.9 percent year-over-year increases in asking prices, respectively. [more]

The candidates at the Denver debate

Last night, as the candidates faced off in the first presidential debate, The Real Deal was taking notes on candidates’ positions on mortgages, the housing industry, taxes, and whether Donald Trump qualifies as a small business.

President Barack Obama said raising taxes on the top 3 percent of businesses would spur growth, without hurting education funding. Meanwhile, the former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said raising taxes on that group would kill job growth. The candidates also sparred on the merits of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a law enacted by the Obama administration in response to the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the country’s ensuing financial troubles.  [more]

The swing states most crucial to the outcome of the presidential election are also among the states most affected by the foreclosure crisis. But CNBC reported today on “Power Lunch” that the issue has largely been ignored by the candidates (see video after the jump).

Mitt Romney hasn’t discussed the issue extensively since visiting Florida in January and backtracking on his initial statements that the best cure for widespread foreclosures is to let them run their course. Still, Barack Obama’s campaign is using that quote in spanish language ads in several of the hardest-hit swing states. [more]

The Port of Miami

The Port of Miami (PortMiami) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have agreed upon a construction deal, PortMiami announced today. The deal means the planned Deep Dredge project, which will allow the port to host so-called superships, can go out for bid. [more]

From left: Mitt Romney and Glenn Hubbard

Mitt Romney’s stance on mortgage refinancing proposals will pit his Republican colleagues against one of his top economic advisers. A controversial mortgage policy proposed by the Obama administration that would accelerate the amortization of underwater loans has gained the support of Columbia Business School Dean Glenn Hubbard, Romney’s adviser, but drawn criticism from Republicans, the Wall Street Journal noted. [more]

Port of Miami

The White House announced yesterday that it plans to complete all federal reviews for the Port of Miami dredging project by next month — with the aim of finishing the channel’s deepening by the end of this year. Miami’s “Deep Dredge” plan is one of five of “national significance” across the U.S. that will be expedited, President Barack Obama said, at the beginning of a two-day campaign trip in Florida. The project involves deepening the channel to 50 feet, allowing for so-called “superships” to dock in Miami. It currently sits at 42 feet. [more]

President Barack Obama

In the run up to a forthcoming settlement with major banks over alleged foreclosure abuses, the Obama administration is attracting criticism from Republican and even some Democratic officials who say the agreement won’t do enough to penalize the financial industry for its wrongs, the Wall Street Journal reported. [more]

With almost half of homes in Broward and Palm Beach counties underwater, homeowners the region could get a boost from a new proposal by the Obama administration, the Sun Sentinel reported. The program, which would cut some home appraisal and underwriting regulations, along with facilitating refinancing, could benefit potentially hundreds of thousands in South Florida. [more]