“There is a general predisposition on the part of the real estate community to vote Republican, but the New York City real estate community can be a little bit closer to the center,” he adds. “We are a pretty liberal city in a lot of ways and we are very cosmopolitan here. If we had Ryan at the top of the ticket, there would be a very different reaction from New York. But Romney is a known choice. He is not the most exciting guy, but our industry thinks if he gets into office, there will be a lot less regulation.”

At the same time, Harbert says no matter who is elected, the country will remain in a low interest rate environment for several years. “I think Wall Street will rally if it is Romney, but I don’t think it will fall if it is Obama,” he adds, noting that problems in Europe and China are still hanging over the US economy as well. “The real question for this country is how we get past the divisions we have,” he says. “We are a polarized country, and to me it matters tremendously who is the president, but I suspect we are going to have a deadlocked Congress for at least another two years, maybe four.”

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