UNDERSTANDING NEW YORK CITY HOUSING MARKET

The New York City housing market consist primarily of three types of homes. Cooperatives, Condominiums, and Townhouses. Cooperatives has the largest portion of the market, accounting for approximately 75% of all homes.

A co-op is a corporation from which you purchase shares that represent the equivalent of the size of your apartment. You do not own real property and will enter into a proprietary lease to occupy the apartment. As an owner of shares, you will pay a monthly maintenance fee to the corporation in relation to the number of shares you own. The corporation then pays the building’s mortgage, real estate taxes, employee salaries, and other expenses for the building maintenance.

Condos are individually owned real property in the form of a specific unit in a building and includes a percentage of the common areas of the building. As the owner you have title in the form of a deed and pays your own real estate taxes. You will need to get title insurance and pay a mortgage recording tax to the City—something you would not do for a co-op. Additionally, you pay a monthly maintenance fee to cover the cost of general maintenance to the common areas, employee salaries and other expenses.

Townhouses are multi-story urban houses, typically 4-6 units that are built close to the street. Brownstones are townhouses made with reddish-brown sandstones. These building are sometimes detached, but often are attached to form row houses.