Nutana is Saskatoon's oldest neighbourhood, on the east bank of the river with Broadway Avenue running through the middle of it, and buyers already accept older mechanical systems as part of the deal there. A basement conversion often has to raise the floor, dig down or reframe the ceiling before it can even reach the minimum height a legal suite requires.
Cost is the other factor an older Nutana basement raises that a newer subdivision does not. Raising a floor, reframing a ceiling or enlarging a window to reach code standards adds real expense before a suite produces a dollar of rent, and a lender will still only credit that rent once a City of Saskatoon permit confirms the work passed inspection.
Joel Dyck can tell you what a specific Nutana basement's structural starting point actually is before you pay for drawings. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.