Monthly Condo Charges Rose Nearly 9% in Fourth Quarter of 2024

Last week we reported that the average price of Manhattan condos far outstripped the average price of co-ops over the past decade. Average condo prices were up 15.2% (to around $2.84 million), while co-ops went down 1.3% (to $1.33 million).

Those numbers, it turns out, cut both ways. In the fourth quarter of 2024, the monthly costs of owning a condo in Manhattan surged 8.6% from a year earlier, according to the appraisal firm Miller Samuel, which tracks the fees charged per square foot as condos change hands. That, Crain's reports, was nearly triple the rate of U.S. inflation last year, which was 2.9% in the same period.

For co-ops, on the other hand, monthly ownership costs were fairly stable in 2024 and increased only 0.1% in the fourth quarter from the same period a year earlier.

Why the discrepancy? Jonathan Miller, president of Miller Samuel, says the citywide average was likely higher because of transactions in large, higher-priced newly developed condo buildings. Rising condo costs also reflect the phasing out of tax abatements for construction rehabilitation projects that were completed in the late 2000s and into the 2010s, Miller adds. The breaks were offered for properties that include some affordable housing units, but they generally taper off over the course of the first 10 or 15 years after construction is completed. Those chickens are now coming home to roost.

It's the latest sign that financial pressures in the city are ramping up. Condo and co-op boards bill owners monthly for utilities, labor and basic maintenance, all of which have risen significantly for the past few years. Insurance has also become more expensive as the so-called hard market grapples with the fallout from major lawsuits, natural disasters and rising claims.

The bad news could get worse in the next 12 months. Trump administration tariffs risk pushing up housing costs even more. And Con Edison, which provides energy to 9 million New York City and Westchester County residents, has asked the state to approve raising electric bills by 11.4% starting Jan. 1, 2026. The utility cites the high costs of shifting away from fossil fuels and powering the electric grid from renewable energy sources — a key component of the city's ambitious climate law, Local Law 97.