The Commercial Real Estate Industry’s Takeaways From the Midterm Elections

Abstract

The hotly contested midterm elections have garnered tons of attention and will impact real estate, but what's happening with the Federal Reserve will have the biggest influence. The stock market may get a quick boost now that the midterms are over, and similar historical trends have happened for commercial real estate returns. The two years before the 2010 midterms were the worst time for commercial real estate returns on record following the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009. All politics is local The national elections gained much of the attention in the midterms, as they always do, but local races matter just as much, if not more, for real estate. What's most important is apolitical Despite what happened in the midterms, most eyes in the commercial real estate industry will remain locked mainly on the Federal Reserve, which, like the Supreme Court, is designed to be apolitical and independent. The midterm elections will have a mixed impact on commercial real estate, as they always do. Historically, property prices have performed surprisingly well in the two years following midterm elections, so the commercial real estate industry may get a post-election bump in the years leading up to the presidential election in 2024.