New York real estate and living wage study

CRA was retained to examine the impact of living wage legislation proposed in New York City. In conjunction with CRA’s Financial Economics Practice, we conducted the most comprehensive analysis of the impact of the proposed living wage legislation on real estate investment and household employment and earnings. CRA’s analyses showed that the proposed law, as specified at the time of analysis, would have substantial impacts on real estate investment while benefiting some low-income workers at the expense of other low-income workers. The study included the most comprehensive review of economic studies on the impact of living wage legislation throughout the US and utilized city-specific data that allowed for detailed investment and labor force simulations. Legislative changes address some of the issues identified in CRA’s report.