- To find the best candidate with the best policies, look to the past.
- The ideal candidate for real estate appreciates big business and the working class.
- The country's CEO needs to think like its broker-in-chief.
This November, the people of this nation will decide on a new President for our country. The stakes are high, and all the candidates are out to prove they are the best fit for the job.
Every industry will want to have a say in how the election turns out. One of the most crucial industries to have its say is the real estate industry.
Major players in the real estate industry including brokerages, lenders and trade associations will all want a front row seat to whichever candidate will follow their instructions most accurately and implement the best policies for the industry.
But, America’s best choice for president when it comes to real estate matters isn’t Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. It’s not even Gary Johnson or Jill Stein.
In fact, the best candidate for presidency — when it comes to real estate matters — isn’t even running in this election.
To find the best presidential candidate for real estate matters, you will have to go all the way back to the roaring ’20s to a commander-in-chief whom almost no one remembers, yet you will never forget.
Calvin Coolidge was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. He became leader of the 48 states at a time when America was just recovering from the wounds of World War I and entering a time of flourishing prosperity.
These circumstances are not unlike today’s America as we are slowly leaving two decade-long wars and a substantial financial crash.
What Coolidge knew better than anyone in government at that time (and possibly ever) was that leaders of government work for the people — and not the other way around.
President Coolidge’s leadership style is best characterized by leading from the rear. That is, he allowed those under and around him to step up into roles of power while providing a hands-off approach. Only when those individuals stepped over specific boundaries did he feel the need to reel them in.
Even his campaigning style was an aberration, as he did not bad-mouth his opponent. Instead, his stump speeches focused on tactical plans of action.
How was Calvin Coolidge the best presidential candidate for the real estate industry?
The real estate industry sees its best times when the nation is growing. And for the nation to prosper, small businesses need to be at the forefront of expansion.
Growing small businesses hire new employees and pay existing employees more money. When people get new jobs and make more money, they are more readily available to buy homes.
And when these two things happen, everyone in the real estate industry prospers.
President Calvin Coolidge knew that for the real estate industry to prosper, business growth was the key. His policies can be summed up by his statement that “the chief business of the American people is business.”
Coolidge made sure to limit government spending, reduce government oversight and regulation and lower taxes for the middle class while raising taxes on wealthier families through estate and gift taxing.
Although Coolidge’s policies were implemented nearly 100 years ago, all of these ideas would bolster economy — and thus make the real estate industry shine.
So when you are standing at an election booth this November and want to vote for those who best support the real estate industry, look back into history to see which policies provided excellent resources to the real estate industry.
Then, see which current candidates have tactical plans of actions that match those policies.
“The chief business of the American people is business.” – President Calvin Coolidge
Nico Hohman is a real estate agent and construction manager for NextHome Discovery. Follow him on Facebook or connect with him on LinkedIn.
