Closing Costs NYC: Condo vs Co-op Buyer’s Guide 2019

Despite having to pay sky high prices for apartments in New York City, some NYC buyers may not even realize that there are additional closings costs that they haven’t considered. The extra costs can really add up, especially for condos. In this article, you’ll see a comparison of condo vs co-op closing costs NYC buyers pay.
Co-op vs Condo: How much should I expect to pay for buyer closing costs in NYC?

Overall when purchasing a co-op in NYC, buyers should expect to pay about one to two percent of the purchase price, or two to three if the apartment costs more than $1 million. As for condos, expect two to four percent as a safe range, the lower end for properties under a million dollars with small mortgages. New construction can be much higher, in some cases above 5%. You can quickly estimate what you’ll pay with Prevu’s closing costs calculator for buyers.
Why are NYC condo closing costs higher?

It’s a double whammy, condos cost more in price terms and they also have higher real estate closing costs! The reason is that when you are buying a condo with a mortgage you a required to pay a mortgage recording tax and typically required to purchase title insurance. While if you purchase a co-op with a mortgage, you are not. Technically when you are buying a co-op apartment, you are buying shares in the co-op and have a proprietary lease on the apartment. While it may be possible to purchase title insurance for a co-op, most opt not to buy it.