Top Co-ops Scramble to Woo Condo Buyers

It started last year when the board at the iconic Fifth Avenue co-op the Sherry-Netherland agreed to sell an apartment for $70 million to a Chinese investor, the first time a foreigner was allowed to buy into the building. Since then, a number of high-end co-ops have loosened rules on renovations and have allowed buyers to finance instead of paying all cash.

The reason? Even the toniest co-ops realize they have to do something to compete with the galloping allure of condos, the Real Deal reports.

In 2015 there were 6,805 co-op sales in Manhattan – down 11 percent from the previous year, according to appraisal firm Miller Samuel. Condo sales, on the other hand, rose 2 percent to 5,150 during the same time. In the past decade, co-op prices have risen by 12 percent while condo prices have soared by 52 percent.

And so co-ops have begun loosening their rules. “These [changes] are all reactions to the surge in demand and the price increase in condominiums,” says Douglas Elliman’s Richard Steinberg. “Co-ops have to be proactive now. They have to be on equal footing.”