Federal funding for affordable housing

[panamaniac]

Why would a reduced tax rate devalue property? In fact, it should make the property more attractive -- just like lower condo fees make a condo building more attractive, and high condo fees tend to make it less attractive (and thus reduce the selling prices).

Except inasmuch as high price is perceived as high value, which is an important part of human psychology. Not sure it applies to high taxes though. We seem to have decoupled the selling price from the assessment price everywhere.

Once you strip out the hotel fixtures you are pretty much left with an empty apartment shell. Assuming you keep the bathroom as is, you need to add a kitchen(ette), rework electricals, do flooring, paint and ceiling. A double unit could be made, window configuration permitting, into a 2BR apartment but would be more complex. Oh, yes, electrical meters would need to be added. Still, it's all interior work.

It's also interesting how a lot of NZ motel rooms have kitchens (efficiencies is what they were called when I was travelling in North America with my parents as a kid). Haven't seen them as often in the North American hotels I stay in more recently. Well, not this year, but generally. Bonus tidbit: NZ hotel rooms often come with fresh milk for your tea. Like a carton of it.

All-suite or extended-stay hotels.  It's in today's news in Ottawa that two all-suite hotels in Centretown are being converted to apartments (pretty easy to do, since they are already individual apartments).