How Long Do New Condo Buyers Keep Their Homes, and What Do They Sell For?
Summary: We matched the sponsor sale of every home in thousands of NYC condos to its next sale in the city's deed records. Here's how long first buyers typically stay, what they sell for, and how often they sell for less.
The Short Answer
The typical first buyer of a new NYC condo keeps it 4.8 years before it sells again, and the first resale typically closes 12% above what that buyer paid the developer. That works out to about 2.6% a year, before inflation and before the costs of buying and selling.
We read the offering plans for 2,667 condo buildings and matched the sponsor's sale of each of 52,826 homes to the city's deed records. So far 11,222 of those homes (21%) have sold again. The figures here come from 9,445 clean first resales, where one home changed hands on its own.
Most first buyers came out ahead: 74% resold for more than they paid. But 25% sold for less, and that's before broker fees and transfer taxes.
What That Looks Like for Real Homes
Here are four homes from the deed records. Each one's numbers sit closest to the middle of its group, so they're what you'd typically see, not the best or worst cases.
| Building | Home | Bought from the developer | Resold | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical first resale | 325 Fifth Avenue | 11D | $936,790, Oct 12, 2006 | $1,050,000, Jul 27, 2011 | +12% after 4.8 years |
| Quick resale (under two years) | Nine 52nd | 409 | $1,120,000, Feb 15, 2017 | $1,195,000, Mar 28, 2018 | +7% after 1.1 years |
| Long hold (ten years or more) | Dwyer | 7C | $764,398, May 9, 2008 | $1,130,000, Jun 2, 2021 | +48% after 13.1 years |
| Typical loss | Urban Glass House | 5D | $1,858,306, Mar 7, 2007 | $1,675,000, Jun 2, 2011 | −10% after 4.2 years |
The prices are what the deeds recorded. The first is what the first buyer paid the developer, and the second is what the next buyer paid them.
The Longer You Stay, the Better the Odds
14% of first resales happened within two years of the sponsor sale. Those quick sellers did no better on price than people who stayed a few years, and 29% of them sold for less than they paid. Buyers who held ten years or more typically sold for 48% more, and only 10% took a loss.
| Under 2 years | +7% |
|---|---|
| 2 to 5 years | +8% |
| 5 to 10 years | +15% |
| 10 years or more | +48% |
"Typical" is the median. Prices are as recorded, not adjusted for inflation.
| First resales | Typical time owned | Typical change | Typical change a year | Sold for less | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 2 years | 1,338 | 1.2 years | +7% | 5.8% | 29% |
| 2 to 5 years | 3,630 | 3.5 years | +8% | 2.2% | 29% |
| 5 to 10 years | 3,275 | 6.8 years | +15% | 2.1% | 25% |
| 10 years or more | 1,202 | 13.2 years | +48% | 3.0% | 10% |
A new-development price includes a premium for being brand new, and a resale buyer won't pay all of it. Once you add the cost of selling, a short stay leaves little room for the market to make up the difference.
By Borough
Brooklyn first buyers did best: their resales rose the most and they were least likely to sell for less. Manhattan buyers held a little longer, saw smaller gains and were most likely to take a loss.
| First resales | Typical time owned | Typical change | Typical change a year | Sold for less | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manhattan | 4,708 | 5.1 years | +10% | 1.9% | 32% |
| Brooklyn | 3,534 | 4.6 years | +15% | 3.4% | 15% |
| Queens | 1,166 | 4.4 years | +8% | 2.0% | 26% |
The Buildings With the Most Resales
220 Riverside Boulevard At Trump Place has had more first resales than any other building in the records: 206 homes have changed hands since the developer sold them. These are the buildings where the most first buyers have sold, and how they did.
| Building | Borough | First resales | Typical time owned | Typical change | Sold for less |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 220 Riverside Boulevard At Trump Place | Manhattan | 206 | 5.0 years | +61% | 5% |
| One Brooklyn Bridge Park | Brooklyn | 205 | 6.4 years | +51% | 2% |
| L'Ecole Condominium/211 East 46th St | Manhattan | 159 | 5.6 years | +18% | 21% |
| 99 John Deco Lofts | Manhattan | 157 | 6.8 years | +30% | 8% |
| 325 Fifth Avenue | Manhattan | 135 | 5.3 years | +16% | 10% |
| Toren | Brooklyn | 128 | 5.2 years | +64% | 3% |
Results vary a lot from one building to the next, even in the same borough. If you're buying new, look up how the building's earlier buyers did: resales are public in the city's deed records (ACRIS), and many building pages on The Condo Book Project show what buyers paid the developer.
What This Means if You're Buying New
- Plan to stay a while. If you might sell within a couple of years, assume you could get back less than you paid, after costs.
- Compare the sponsor's price with resales in the building. In an older building, the deeds tell you what earlier buyers' homes have sold for since. A sponsor price well above those resales is the new-development premium.
- Check the price list. The offering plan's Schedule A lists the developer's original price for every home, and amendments show how it changed. See Schedule A and Schedule B explained.
- Count your costs. In a new-development purchase, the buyer often pays transfer taxes the seller usually pays, and selling costs come on top. See closing costs.
You can look up any building's offering plan, price list and closings on The Condo Book Project.
FAQ
How long do people keep a new condo in NYC before selling?
The typical first buyer sells after 4.8 years. Most new-condo homes haven't resold at all yet: of the 52,826 sponsor sales we matched, 11,222 have closed a second time.
Do new development condos hold their value?
Usually, but not always. The typical first resale closed 12% above the sponsor price, about 2.6% a year, while 25% sold for less than the first buyer paid.
Is it a good idea to flip a new condo?
The records say it's risky. Homes resold within two years typically gained little, and 29% sold for less than the sponsor price, before any selling costs.
Why might the sponsor price look high on the deed?
In many new-development sales the buyer pays the city and state transfer taxes the developer would normally pay, and those can be recorded as part of the price. That makes the sponsor price look higher and the gain at resale look smaller.
Where does the data come from?
From NYC condo offering plans, matched to deeds recorded with the NYC Department of Finance (ACRIS) through Sep 30, 2026. The first sale is the developer's deed to the first buyer, with the seller checked against the plan's sponsor. The first resale is the next deed on that home. We left out deeds covering several homes or bundled with parking or storage, sponsor prices under one hundred thousand dollars, transfers under ten thousand dollars (into a trust or LLC, for example), and resales within 90 days, which are usually corrected or re-recorded deeds. "Typical" means the median. Prices are as recorded, not adjusted for inflation. Updated as of Oct 22, 2026.
Related: What Queens Condo Buyers Actually Pay More For · What Brooklyn Condo Buyers Actually Pay More For