Manhattan's co-op market is having a moment few saw coming a few years ago. The median sale price for Manhattan co-ops and condos combined hit a record $1.25 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 4.2% year over year, according to Miller Samuel's latest quarterly overview for the Elliman Report — the sixth straight quarter of year-over-year gains. But the headline number obscures a more interesting shift underneath it: buyers who spent years favoring condos are increasingly turning back to co-ops as condo inventory, especially in new development, keeps shrinking.

A Scarcity Story at the Top of the Market

Luxury and new-development listings kept falling through the second quarter, pushing the number of available luxury listings to its lowest point in 22 years of tracking. That scarcity, more than a genuine surge in buyer demand, is what's driving Manhattan's median price higher: a larger share of transactions are happening at the top of the market simply because that's disproportionately where the limited inventory sits, not because more buyers are chasing deals across the board.

Why Co-ops Are Pulling Buyers Back

The more notable trend is what's happening beneath the aggregate number. Co-op prices climbed as demand shifted toward the home type, reversing several years in which condos had captured most buyer interest. With new-development condo supply drying up in prime neighborhoods, buyers are rediscovering co-ops' advantages: they tend to occupy some of Manhattan's best locations, often at a meaningful discount to comparable condos, even though they typically come with board approval processes and financing restrictions that condos don't. One Brown Harris Stevens agent described the shift bluntly, noting buyers are increasingly recognizing co-ops as good value in prime locations that condo inventory simply can't match right now.

What This Means for Owners

For owners of co-op units or shares in co-op buildings, this is a meaningfully better selling environment than the market offered a few years ago, when co-ops were viewed as the less desirable, harder-to-finance alternative to condos. Sellers in well-located co-op buildings should be able to price more confidently against recent comparables than they could in 2023 or 2024, when co-op values had actually pulled back even as the broader market firmed.

For owners evaluating whether to convert a rental building to co-op or condo ownership, or weighing an acquisition strategy across ownership types, the current dynamic favors well-located co-op product more than it has in years — though buyers should still expect board approval and financing considerations to factor into deal timelines in a way they don't for condos. And for anyone tracking the broader Manhattan sales market, it's worth remembering that record medians right now reflect where the available inventory sits, not necessarily a market-wide acceleration in demand.

Dover Property Group tracks pricing trends across co-op and condo product so owners can price accurately whichever ownership structure their building falls under. If you're considering a sale or want a current read on how your building's ownership type is trading, reach out to our team.

Sources: Brick Underground · The Real Deal

About the Author
Dover Property Group is a New York City property management firm working with building owners and tenants across all five boroughs. Our team tracks market conditions, compliance requirements, and neighborhood-level trends to help owners protect their assets and tenants navigate one of the most complex rental markets in the country.

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