Property taxes, Airbnb limits: What can NZ tourism towns learn from Aspen?
Property taxes and restrictions on Airbnb-type accommodation support a world-leading affordable housing programme in Aspen, Colorado, but remain faraway dreams for Queenstown.
Aspen’s mayor, Torre, who goes by one name, has been in Queenstown this week with a delegation of council, tourism and business officials as part of a 32-year sister-city relationship. Torre said the Aspen Pitkin County Housing Authority managed about 3200 affordable houses in Aspen, where the population was 7700 people.
Aspen is surrounded by ski areas and is known in the United States as a playground of the uber-rich.
However, with a median sales price for a family home this year of US$11.9 million (about
NZ$19.7 million), the town struggles to house the workers needed when it hits peak visitor populations of more than 30,000 people. The housing authority programme was developed in the 1970s; today, between one-third and one-half of the population either rents or has bought a home from the authority.
Among the tools the local council uses to fund affordable housing is a tax on new commercial developments, whereby developers provide housing or cash to cover a percentage of the number of employees the development will generate. There is also a 1% tax on property purchases.
The town introduced taxes and restrictions on Airbnb-style short-term holiday rentals, including a 5% tax on owner-occupied properties and 10% on exclusive holiday homes, about 18 months ago. There is also a cap on the number of permits issued for short-term accommodation in each neighbourhood.
Queenstown Lakes District mayor Glen Lewers said he was envious of the legislative levers that Aspen used to raise revenue.
The district’s population of 50,000 can swell to more than 100,000 with visitors, but central government has so far rejected the Queenstown council’s attempts to implement a widely supported visitor levy to assist with infrastructure issues.