Donald Trump was unexpectedly — at least, if you followed polls, pundits or conventional wisdom — elected president, and that has thrown many of the safe predictions about 2017 up in the air. And if the rhetoric of the first weeks following the election bears out, his administration will be marked by a general increase in volatility and unpredictability. Many commercial real estate investors are reacting the way they often do to uncertainty: They are taking a wait-and-see approach.

The results of the election — an electoral college win supported by rural voters, even though President-elect Trump lost the popular vote as urban centers cast ballots for his opponent — have demonstrated deep divides in the United States among regions with strong economic gains and regions without. And this pattern has been seen elsewhere around the globe, with major implications for investors in the year ahead.

Dennis Lopez, global CIO of AXA Investment Manage