Updated November 2026
If you are shopping for an apartment to buy in New York City, you will see two words constantly, co-op and condo. They look similar on a listing but they are completely different things to own, with different rules, costs, and headaches, and picking the wrong one for your situation can cost you the deal or cost you money.
When you buy a condo, you own real property, with a deed to your unit, just like a house, plus a share of the common areas. When you buy a co-op, you do not own real estate at all. You buy shares in a corporation that owns the building, plus a proprietary lease giving you the right to live in your unit. That one structural difference drives every other difference below.
Co-ops are generally cheaper than comparable condos, commonly somewhere in the range of 15 to 25 percent less for a similar apartment in a similar area, and they make up much of the more affordable apartment stock in Brooklyn neighborhoods like Bay Ridge and the larger southern Brooklyn complexes. That lower price is not free money, it comes with the tradeoffs below.
When you buy a co-op you need the building's board to approve you, not just the money. You submit a detailed board package, often more documentation than your lender asks for, and usually sit for an in person interview. A co-op board can reject you, and in most cases does not have to tell you why, as long as it is not illegal discrimination. A condo is different: a condo board cannot reject you. Its only power is a right of first refusal, which is rarely used, so condo purchases are faster and far more predictable.
Co-ops are usually stricter, often requiring at least 20 percent down and post closing reserves, meaning money left in the bank after you close, on top of what your lender requires. Condos are more flexible on the down payment. This matters for low down payment buyers, because an FHA loan generally only works on a condo if that specific building is FHA approved, and FHA on a co-op is effectively not available. Your lender confirms which buildings qualify.
A co-op charges one monthly maintenance that bundles your share of building operating costs and property taxes. A condo charges common charges for operations and then you pay your own property tax bill separately, so compare a condo by adding both together. A flip tax, usually paid by the seller, is more common in co-ops. And the big one for investors and house hackers: co-ops are typically very restrictive about subletting, while condos are much more flexible, so if you want to rent it out, a condo is almost always the right structure.
Buy a co-op if you will live there, want the lowest price and monthly cost, plan to stay put, and can pass a board and fund reserves. Buy a condo if you want speed and certainty, might rent it out or house hack, have a lower down payment or are using FHA, are self employed, or want the easiest resale. One note for Staten Island buyers: most of the Island is houses, not apartments, so this question comes up far more in Brooklyn.
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