How to Make your Co-op Compete Against a Condo

Co-op apartments are facing tough competition these days in the NYC market. And it’s easy to see why. If any, few people like going through the co-op board application, and if the co-op apartment is getting on in the years, it’s hard for it to compete with brand new condos fitted out with the latest appliances and styles. But even so, co-ops are still the main choice for many people as they’re generally better valued for money.

If you’ve got a co-op apartment you want to sell, you can do a few little things to help it compete on the market. Many buyers might wish for a condo but are unsure if they can afford it. If you can get your co-op looking just as good as a new condo, that might be enough to get the right offer.

Get a kitchen upgrade.

The kitchen is probably the most important room in an apartment, and most buyers pay attention to it. It’s hard to compete if your lighting, appliances, and décor are some years behind the current styles. A good start would be to upgrade your appliances with high-end brands like Bosch, Sub-Zero, and Liebherr. Recessed lighting is currently a hot item that buyers expect to see. Also good are customized cabinets and drawers with space-saving designs, soft-close doors, and automatic lights.

Before staging, clean everything.

Home staging is a tried and tested strategy for selling an apartment. But before you can start, you need to prep the apartment. Go through the entire place, from ceiling to floor, and clean everything. Nobody likes to see faded walls or dirty windows. If it’s been a while since you had a professional deep clean, now is the time to do it.

Start decluttering, especially heavy furniture.

People accumulate a lot of things over the years in a home. The current owner might treasure some of those things, but they clutter most buyers. Home sellers often struggle with removing beloved possessions and changing the apartment to suit most buyers, but it’s got to be done if you want to sell. This is especially so for heavy furnishings as they impede a potential buyer’s ability to visualize living there. Hiring a professional home stager will help decide what should stay and go.

Consider a renovation

Alright, this is where we get into the pricy territory. Renovations can be expensive and time-consuming, but there’s probably a good reason if your broker is pushing for it. If done right, there’s a good chance that the apartment will sell for higher than expected. This means you’ll recuperate the renovation costs and maybe also make some extra money from it. 

Renovations can be relatively straightforward, such as whitewashing the walls and removing carpets. Or more complex such as doing an entire bathroom and kitchen remodel. A remodel on that scale is better done a few years before you plan to sell, so it’s well worth considering if that’s where you are now.