Is It Worth Buying a Co-Op Apartment in New York City?

Co-ops offer New York house hunters one of the rarest commodities in the city that never sleeps: a discount.Across all five boroughs, co-ops were the least expensive property type in 2025, according to a Realtor.com® analysis of listing data dating back to 2019. In Manhattan, the markdown crossed the $1 million threshold, with a median-priced co-op selling for $895,000 versus $2.025 million for a condominium.The gap persists even at the top of the market. In June, luxury co-ops carried a median asking price of $2,060 per square foot, compared with $2,660 for luxury resale condos and $2,979 for luxury sponsor condos, according to StreetEasy data.But the discount isn't free. Median co-op listing prices have shown weaker growth than other property types over the past five years, while owners can face rising maintenance costs and, in some buildings, the added risk of a ground lease.Even so, in a city of renters, the real calculation may be between a co-op and continuing to rent.“In a city where both the rental market and the for-sale market can be brutally competitive, buying a co-op can be a real way to step into homeownership, and the stability that comes with it,” says Hannah Jones,...