Jerel Washington
How Will The 2020 Presidential Election Affect Real Estate?
T
wo months from now, citizens of the United States of America would be choosing who will be behind the wheels of the affairs of the country for the next four years. And the truth is, no matter how much we try to say the election has no impact on the real estate market, we still have to pay very close attention to the election. This is because election years tend to make investors nervous about investing in dicey political situations since they do not know if the incumbent will retain office and continue with his policies. They’re also unsure if there would be a newly elected president who could change the face of the game with one of his new policies.
42
l
It is because of this reason we are going to be examining how this presidential election would be affecting the real estate market. • Uncertainty The first way this presidential election will be affecting the real estate market is by causing uncertainty in the mind of home buyers and other investors in the market. Matt Laricy, the managing broker of The Matt Laricy Group in Chicago, says “presidential elections tend to affect the market more than other elections is simply because people fear change, [and] whenever people get nervous, they don’t make rational decisions. They make emotional decisions.” This uncertainty on the part of the people tends to grow as the year progresses in an election year and it becomes more noticeable during the second half of that year. This is proven by a data analysis carried out by The Real Deal, which showed that real estates sales are 12.7% weaker between June and October in presidential election years. The Power Is Now Magazine | OCTOBER 2020
