New York is years ahead of Toronto, when it comes to the affordability index, with apartments renting in Manhattan for more than three times what they would be going for here.
The state is offering a property tax rebate for developers with buildings of 300 units or more, in busy downtown locations like Manhattan, Brookyn and Queens.
Those builders wouldn't have to pay property taxes for 35 years, if they keep a specific number of units, classified as affordable housing.
And that's something that is going to happen, it's already been passed in the 2018 budget in New York.
Could it work here?
Condo developer and real estate broker Brad Lamb says, yes.
"That's something that could work well in Toronto. I think that could work to get some level of affordable housing in purpose built buildings."
In New York, they expect the new incentives to bring in 25 hundred new affordable housing units every year.
Lamb says that would save somewhere in the neighbourhood of a million to a million-and-a-half each year. Add that together, and developers could be saving 30 million dollars over that span.
"Now, keep in mind, it takes about 100 million to build the building, but it's a start."
So far, nothing from Toronto on if they are willing to entertain cutting property taxes.