Red states have spent decades dominating a key corner of the economy — will the blue wave change that?
DALLAS — Red states have quietly outpaced their blue-state counterparts in commercial real estate investment returns for years, according to a new study highlighting stark differences in state economic policies.But...
By Fox News · Fox News
DALLAS — Red states have quietly outpaced their blue-state counterparts in commercial real estate investment returns for years, according to a new study highlighting stark differences in state economic policies. But sweeping Democratic gains in Tuesday's midterm elections — even in traditionally deep-red strongholds — are raising questions about whether those states can maintain their economic advantages as the political landscape shifts in the new year. Mitch Flax, founder and chief investment officer of Net Equity Capital, told Fox News Digital his research was sparked by the observation that commercial real estate investors based in blue states were reluctant to invest in their own markets. The findings underscore a broader economic battle playing out across the country as businesses and wealthy Americans relocate across state lines, bringing jobs, investment dollars and tax revenue with them while potentially leaving financial holes in the states they abandon. CEO SAYS DOING BUSINESS IN STATE ‘SUCKS’ AS COMPANY HEADS TO TEXAS AMID CALIFORNIA EXODUS "I had a large family office based out of Chicago who lives in California who said, we don't invest in real estate in blue states," Flax recalled. Coming on the heels of the 2026 midterms, the study also raises questions about whether the state-level tax and business policies that have helped fuel growth in red states will remain intact as Democrats make political gains and begin to enact their agenda. The encounter prompted Flax to examine nearly 24,000 commercial real estate transactions to determine whether political differences between states were associated with investment performance. Researchers used a proxy to estimate returns and classified states as red or blue based on their votes in the 2024 presidential election. Flax attributed the performance gap identified in his analysis largely to differences in state-level business policies, arguing that those policies influence where companies relocate,…