The Afternoon Wrap: Wednesday

Stymied by the economy, state and local housing finance agencies are struggling to find buyers for $30 billion worth of bonds. [Bond Buyer]

Many states are making it tougher to become a mortgage broker by instituting hurdles such as background checks and ethics training courses. [NY Times]

Now that its developers have defaulted on their $105.3 million loan, Costas Kondylis’ Sixth Avenue tower will remain little more than a pit for the foreseeable future. [Curbed]

All the NYC landmarks that vanished in 2008. [VNY via Curbed]

Curbed honors the developers of the year. [Curbed]

Federal Reserve to buy back as much as $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities in early January. [Miami Herald via TRD]

How will increased homeowner taxes, signed into law on Monday, affect the real estate market? [TRD]

The 2009 Brooklyn Deathwatch. [Gowanus Lounge]

New census data shows big increases in the Bronx’s foreign-born population. [WBB]