Closing costs in New York City range from 1.5% to 6% for buyers and 8% to 10% for sellers.

These closing costs are additional taxes and fees that must be paid at closing, which means additional funds are necessary in addition to the down payment for buyers, and sellers will net less from their home sale.

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An Overview of Closing Costs in NYC

Seller Closing Costs in NYC

Seller Closing Cost Calculator

Summary of Seller Closing Costs

Example Seller Closing Costs in NYC

Real Estate Broker Commission

NYC Transfer Tax

NY State Transfer Tax

Seller’s Attorney Fee

Move Out Deposit & Fees

Miscellaneous Fees

Co-op Flip Tax

Random Extra Co-op Fees

Buyer Closing Costs in NYC

Buyer Closing Cost Calculator

Summary of Buyer Closing Costs

Example Buyer Closing Costs in NYC

The Mansion Tax

Title Insurance

Buyer’s Attorney Fee

Buyer Move-In Deposit

NYC Mortgage Recording Tax

Additional Financing Related Fees

Extra New Construction Closing Costs

Extra Fees for Co-op Buyers

Closing costs in NYC range from 1.5% to 6% for buyers and 8% to 10% for sellers.

Buyer closing costs are higher if you purchase new construction or finance your purchase with a mortgage, and are lower if you purchase a re-sale or a co-op apartment.

Seller closing costs are higher if you are selling a co-op primarily because of the flip tax that many coop buildings charge.

Biggest Buyer Closing Costs

The largest closing costs in NYC for buyers include the Mansion Tax, the Mortgage Recording Tax and title insurance.

The NYC Mansion Tax is a one-time tax of 1% to 3.9% for all sales of $1 million or more customarily paid by buyers.

The Mortgage Recording Tax can be almost 2% of the loan amount but only applies for condos, houses and other real property but not for co-ops.

Title insurance also only applies towards real property purchases such as condos and houses, but not co-ops.

Biggest Seller Closing Costs

The biggest seller closing costs in NYC are the typical real estate commission of 6% of the sale price, the NYC and NY State transfer taxes and the flip taxes charged by co-op buildings.

Fortunately for sellers, it’s possible to eliminate broker fees entirely through an Agent Assisted FSBO, or dramatically reduce broker fees through a 1% for Full Service listing.

Transfer taxes are harder to avoid however, and can be almost 2% of the sale price for your average NYC apartment.

Flip taxes are only levied by some co-op buildings and will vary by building. Some co-ops might not charge any flip tax, but you’ll often see buildings charge a flip tax of anywhere from 1% to 2% of the sale price.

Seller closing costs in NYC are between 8% to 10% of the sale price, assuming you’ve paid a typical real estate commission of 6% of the sale price.

Your seller closing costs will vary depending on whether you are selling a condo or a co-op apartment, primarily because many co-op buildings will charge a flip tax of 1% to 2% of the sale price.

A typical NYC seller of a $1.87 million apartment can expect to pay between $153,178 (condo) and $181,728 (co-op) in closing costs! That is some serious money.

Sellers can save up to 6% in commission by listing Agent Assisted FSBO or by working with a full-service agent for just 1%.

The highest closing costs for sellers in NYC is the typical 6% real estate commission. Despite advances in technology, broker commissions in NYC have remained stubbornly fixed around 6%.

To make matters worse, it’s still very difficult for a seller to negotiate commissions with a prospective listing agent.

Listing agents in the 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s did not have the ability to click a button and syndicate your listing to dozens of real estate websites all at once.

Back then, agents had to spend large amounts of money and time on newspaper advertising and other word of mouth marketing methods.

Fast forward to today and listing agents can easily syndicate your listing on the internet to broker databases and property search websites like the REBNY RLS, New York Times and StreetEasy in a matter of minutes.

Despite all these advances in technology, listing agents in NYC still stubbornly refuse to go below 6% in commission to sell your home.

New Yorkers have options. You can save all 6% in NYC broker commission by listing Agent Assisted For Sale by Owner in NYC.

Seller closing costs in NYC are high enough, so why add another 6% to your bill by hiring a full commission listing agent?

How It Works

1. Submit your listing details online
2. Select a NYC Flat Fee MLS (RLS) listing package
3. Conduct open houses and negotiate with buyers
4. Accept an offer and close your sale

Join hundreds of fellow New Yorkers who have sold on their own with the help of Hauseit’s Agent Assisted FSBO listing service.

Selling a Home in NYC Is Actually Quite Simple

The formula for selling FSBO in NYC is simple and it’s something most NYC listing agents don’t want you to know.

Selling a condop, a condo or a co-op in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx, is as simple as having:

Flat Fee MLS Listing + Professional Photography + Realistic Listing Price + Preparation

Save thousands by listing with a full service, highly rated REBNY Member Firm in NYC for just 1% commission. You shouldn’t have to pay 6% simply because you don’t have the time or energy to sell FSBO in NYC.

So what’s included?

1. Professional Home Pricing Analysis and CMA

2. Professional Photography and Floor Plans

3. Engage other agents on the REBNY RLS and the MLS

4. Full marketing on dozens of popular property search sites

5. Custom open house experiences and all private showings

6. Offer Screening, negotiation and broker consulting

7. Board package application and closing assistance

New York City levies a tax on the sales, grants, assignments, transfers or surrenders of real property in NYC. Current NYC Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) rates are 1% for sales of $500k or less and 1.425% for sales above $500k.

The complete NYC Transfer Tax rates are as follows:

Please keep in mind that if you are selling 2+ un-attached units to your buyer at the same time, you are required to pay the commercial RPTT rates:

• 1.425% of the sale price: For sale values below $500,000

• 2.625% of the sale price: For sale values above $500,000

New York State charges home sellers a separate transfer tax of 0.4% to 0.65% of the sale price. This is payable in addition to the New York City Real Property Transfer Tax.

The higher rate of 0.65% applies to sales of $3 million or above. The higher tax threshold kicks in at $2 million for sales of commercial properties and multifamily properties with 4-or-more units.

NY State Transfer Tax is due and payable along with form TP-584 no later than the 15^th day after the delivery of documents.

It’s highly recommended that NYC sellers obtain top notch legal representation when completing the home sale process.

Given the various legal risks and documentation requirements required of the seller, it’s a no brainer to hire an attorney so that you may sleep easy at night.

You may be able to find a lawyer who charges less than one thousand dollars, however we advise you to proceed with caution.

We are in touch with fairly priced and proven, highly-experienced real estate attorneys if you need an introduction.

Furthermore, many of our attorney partners have agreed to friends and family discounts and additional help (i.e. board package preparation) for Hauseit customers. It’s important to have an attorney lined up ideally before you submit an offer.

This way your buyer agent can credibly say that you are ready to move fast with an attorney on standby who can review the purchase contract ASAP.

Contact us today for an introduction to a local expert!

The specific amount of move out related deposits and fees varies by building.

A general rule of thumb is to budget around $1,000 for a refundable move-out deposit and another $1,000 in potential non-refundable move out and closing related fees levied by your condo or co-op.

As a NYC seller, you will also face another random assortment of fees to complement the more substantial fees and taxes described above.

The additional NYC seller closing costs can include:

• $1,000 – Managing Agent Fee

• $500 – Payoff Bank Attorney / Payoff Bank Fees / Loan Satisfaction Fee, which is levied by your mortgage provider upon paying down the remaining loan amount

• $500 – Common Charge & Real Estate Tax Adjustment, which is the seller’s reimbursement of the purchaser for the percentage of common charge fees and/or real estate taxes which the seller is liable for during the transfer

• $100 – UCC-3 Filing Fee

• $75 – New York State Equalization Fee

• $75 – Residential Deed Transfer Fee (or non-deed co-op transfer fee)

The dreaded NYC co-op flip tax is a non-deductible transfer fee payable to the co-op upon the sale of a unit within the building.

For our example above, we will assume a standard flip tax rate of 1.5% of the sale price.

Flip taxes come in many shapes and forms, however they generally will appear in one of the following formats:

• Flat fee flip tax

• Percentage of your sale price

• Percentage of the net profit earned on your sale

• A fixed fee which varies depending on your length of ownership

• A per share amount, which is based upon the per share flip tax figure multiplied by the number of co-op shares assigned to your unit

• Combined method, which incorporates one more of the above approaches

Co-op flip taxes are legally permitted provided that the flip tax details are present in the co-op’s proprietary lease or if the flip tax has been added as an amendment to the lease through the approval of more than 67% (2/3rds) of shareholders of the co-op.

We don’t think so.

However there is a historical reason why most if not all co-ops in NYC levy a fee to their departing residences. During the rental conversion boom in the 1970s and 1980s, sponsors were faced with the challenge of poorly maintained buildings as well as long term rent controlled residents who could not afford to purchase a unit in the building.

As a result, the conversion sponsor offered many of their rent controlled tenants the ability to purchase units in the building at substantially below-market prices.

As the converted rental tenants often made substantial profits during a sale, the co-ops decided to levy a flip tax on the beneficiaries of these profitable sales in order to fund the much needed improvements to the building for the long-term, committed residents.

The original conception of the flip tax was as a temporary tax on quick flip sellers to fund renovations, however co-ops soon began making them permanent once they realized the size of the recurring revenues they could generate for the building.

Most of the time, the flip tax is paid by sellers. However, depending on building rules and the current state of the market (buyers’ or sellers’ market), the buyer may opt to pay the flip tax instead of the seller.

• $500 – Co-op Attorney Fee

• $50 – New York State Stock Transfer Tax, which consists of a tax levied by NYS of $0.05 per unit of stock being sold. While the number of co-op shares owned by sellers can vary widely, we’ve estimated $50 all in for the New York State stock transfer tax associated with our hypothetical NYC home sale

Sellers can save up to 6% in commissions by listing Agent Assisted FSBO or by working with a full-service agent for just 1%.

Buyers can save $20,000 or more and reduce their closing costs by requesting a Hauseit Buyer Closing Credit.

Buyer closing costs in NYC are substantial and range from 1.5% – 6% of the purchase price.

Buyers of co-op apartments under $1 million will face the lowest closing costs, while buyers of new construction condos over $1 million who finance their purchase will face the highest closing costs.

Keep in mind that some closing costs are negotiable, especially when buying a new construction home in NYC in a softer market.

Requesting a Hauseit Buyer Closing Credit is a legal and non-taxable way to discreetly save money on your purchase and reduce your buyer closing costs in NYC.

Closing costs are higher for condos than co-ops, and closing costs are always greater for ‘new construction’ (sponsor) sales.

In most cases, you will also pay higher closing costs if you are financing the purchase vs. making an all-cash transaction.

The New York City Mansion Tax applies to the sale of residential property valued at or above $1 million.

The Mansion Tax consists of 8 individual tax brackets which range from 1% to 3.9% of the purchase price. Tax brackets are as follows:

The lowest tax rate of 1% applies to purchases of $1 million or more and below $2 million, and the highest rate of 3.9% applies to sales of $25 million or more.

Prior to 2019, the Mansion Tax was a fixed 1% of the purchase price for sales of $1 million or more. The tax was originally implemented in 1989 to help combat a budget deficit.

The Mansion Tax rates were increased as part of changes to the New York Tax Law in 2019.

Title insurance offers the buyer protection against any future claims made against the title for issues which were undiscovered at the time of the purchase when the original title search was conducted by the insurance agency.

In the event that you are financing your purchase, title insurance would consist of two parts: a lender’s policy, which covers the amount of the loan exposure and declines over time as you make payments, and an owner’s policy, which is taken out for the full purchase price and does not decline over time.

The costs of title insurance in New York State can be substantial. There are many factors which contribute to this, although the primary reason is overall lack of competition in the industry. As of 2015, New York State is currently looking into ways to increase competition and reduce the price for consumers.

For NYC co op buyers, the combination of not having to pay for title insurance or the NYC/NYS Mortgage Tax (in the event a bank loan is needed) means that co-op buyer closing costs in NYC are substantially lower than for condos.

As is the case for sellers, It’s highly recommended that NYC home buyers obtain top notch legal representation when completing the home purchase process process. Given the various legal risks associated with such a large purchase, it’s a no brainer to hire an attorney so that you may sleep easy at night.

You may be able to find a lawyer who charges less than $2,500, however we advise you to proceed with caution. Having questionable, low-quality representation could cost you thousands of dollars down the road. We are in touch with proven, highly-experienced real estate attorneys if you need an introduction.

Depending on the rules of the condo or co-op in which your unit is located, you may be required to make a refundable ‘move-in’ deposit. You can generally expect to recover this money in the future, however as it is a required cash outlay it’s worth budgeting for in your purchase calculations.

The NYC/NYS Mortgage Tax is levied on the total amount of the mortgage for the purchase of real property (condos, townhouses and homes) at the following rates:

• Mortgages below $500,000 = 2.05% of borrowed amount

• Mortgages over $500,000 for 1-3 family residential unit and individual residential condo units = 2.175%

• Mortgages on all other property over $500,000 = 2.80%

Fortunately, buyers of NYC co-ops are exempt from the Mortgage Recording Tax because co-op owners hold shares in a building instead of owning real property with a deed.

NYC home buyers who will be financing the purchase can also expect to pay most if not all of the additional costs below:

• $750 – Bank Attorney Fee

• $750 – Bank Loan Origination Fee

• $450 – Property Appraisal Fee

• $500 – Mortgage Application & Processing Fee

• $100 – Credit Report & Employment Verification Fee

• $1000 – Title Search & Recording Fees

• $200 – Financing / Recognition Agreement Fee (Co-op only)

NYC home buyers who purchase new construction directly from sponsors are also responsible for costs which are normally paid by the Seller for existing construction units. They include the following:

• $26,748 – NYC Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT) & Filing Fee

• $7,480 – NY State Transfer Tax

• $2,500  – Seller’s Attorney Fee

• $100 – (Co-op Only) UCC-1 Filing Fee