The first question most sellers ask me is what their apartment is worth. The second question, once they have thought about it for a day, is the one that actually matters: what do I walk away with?
Those two numbers are further apart in New York than almost anywhere else in the country. Plan on 8% to 10% of the sale price in total seller costs (Hauseit, DeFalco Realty).
Here is where it goes.
Brokerage commission
Typically 4% to 6%, and the largest single line item by a wide margin (Agarunov Law).
This is negotiable, and it should be a real conversation rather than a number you accept off a rate card. What you want to interrogate is not just the percentage but what sits behind it: how the property gets photographed, where it gets placed, who is doing the showings, and how the co-brokering split is structured — because a listing that quietly discourages other agents from bringing buyers costs you far more than a fee difference.
Transfer taxes: you pay twice
New York City sellers pay transfer tax to both the city and the state (Brian K. Lewis).
| Tax | Rate |
|---|---|
| NYC Real Property Transfer Tax, sale up to $500,000 | 1% |
| NYC Real Property Transfer Tax, sale above $500,000 | 1.425% |
| New York State transfer tax, under $3 million | 0.4% |
| New York State transfer tax, residential $3 million and up | 0.65% |
| Combined, above $500,000 and under $3 million | 1.825% |
| Combined, $3 million and up | 2.075% |
The cliff at $500,000 is real. A sale at $505,000 is taxed at the higher city rate on the entire price, not just the amount over the line.
There is a second cliff at $3 million, where the state rate steps up from 0.4% to 0.65% on residential sales (Hauseit, Brian K. Lewis). On a $3 million sale that step costs you an extra $7,500, and it applies to the whole price.
One thing worth clearing up: the mansion tax on sales of $1 million and up is paid by the buyer, not you. Sellers hear "mansion tax" and brace for it unnecessarily. It still matters to you indirectly — it shapes what buyers are willing to bid near those thresholds — but it does not come out of your proceeds.
Flip tax, if you are in a co-op
This one is building-specific and it catches people. A flip tax is charged by the co-op corporation itself, and the formula varies enormously between buildings: a flat fee, a percentage of the sale price, a percentage of your profit, or a per-share amount.
There is no citywide rate to quote you. Pull your building's formula before you price the apartment, not after you have an accepted offer. On a large co-op sale, the difference between a 1% flip tax and a 3% one is real money.
Attorney
Budget roughly $2,500 to $4,000 (Gaduran Real Estate, Hauseit).
Do not shop this on price. A New York residential closing is a document-heavy process with a board package attached, and an attorney who returns calls the same day is worth several times the spread between the cheap option and the good one.
The smaller lines
Individually minor, collectively a few thousand dollars:
- Managing agent and transfer fees charged by the building
- Move-out deposit or fee
- Payoff and satisfaction fees if you are carrying a mortgage
- Stock and lease transfer fees, for co-ops
- NYS equalization and transfer filing fees
Running your own number
Take your realistic sale price and subtract 9% as a working estimate. Then subtract your remaining mortgage balance. That is roughly your net before any flip tax, which you add once you know your building's formula.
On an $800,000 sale, that is somewhere near $72,000 in costs. It is a serious number, and it is why pricing correctly at the outset matters more than squeezing a fee: a listing that sits for four months and then trades below where it should have been priced costs far more than any line item above.
What I do before we list
I put together a net-proceeds sheet with your building's actual flip tax formula, your actual payoff, and the actual transfer taxes at two or three candidate prices. Sellers make much better decisions when they are looking at what lands in their account rather than a headline number.
If you want that run for your apartment, it takes me a day and there is no obligation attached to it.
Figures reflect customary New York City ranges as of 2026 and are not tax or legal advice. Your attorney and accountant should confirm the numbers for your specific sale.
