Selling a Coop on Long Island or in Queens

The short answer: a coop sale runs like any other sale until the contract is signed. Then your buyer has to be approved by the building's board, which a house sale never needs. Plan for three coop items on top of the transfer taxes every seller pays: the board's review of your buyer, a flip tax if your building charges one, and the managing agent's fees for the transfer. The building's own documents set the flip tax and the fees, so get them before you list. From November 2025 to October 2026, coops spent a median of 38 days on the market in Nassau, 29 in Suffolk and 64 in Queens.

How a coop sale works, step by step

1. Before you list. Ask the managing agent for the building's sale documents: the purchase application, the flip-tax rule, the transfer fees, and the down-payment and financing rules. Those rules decide who can buy your apartment, so buyers' agents should see them up front.
2. The offer. Weigh the buyer's finances against the building's rules, not only the price. A buyer who meets the building's down-payment and reserve requirements is more likely to be approved. In New York, an accepted offer binds neither side until the contract is signed.
3. The contract. Your attorney prepares it and the buyer pays a deposit. Most coop contracts make the sale subject to board approval.
4. The board package. The buyer completes the building's application (financial statement, tax returns, bank statements, reference letters) and submits it through the managing agent. An incomplete package is the most common delay. See our coop board package checklist.
5. The interview. If the board wants to meet the buyer, it sets an interview. You do not attend.
6. Approval or rejection. In Suffolk County, the law requires the building to acknowledge a completed application in writing within 10 days and to approve or reject it in writing within 45 days, giving the grounds for a rejection (Suffolk County Code §391-3). In Nassau and Queens, boards are generally not required to give a reason. No board may reject a buyer for a reason the fair-housing laws prohibit. If your buyer is rejected, the contract usually ends and you return to the market.
7. The closing. You sign over your stock certificate and assign your proprietary lease to the buyer. If you have a share loan, your lender is paid off and hands over the stock certificate and lease it has held as collateral. The flip tax, the managing agent's fees and the transfer taxes are paid at the table.

The buyer's side of the same process is in buying a coop, step by step.

The flip tax

A flip tax is a fee the coop corporation charges when an apartment is sold. Despite the name, it is not a government tax. The building sets it, usually in its proprietary lease, its bylaws or a board resolution, and those documents decide how much it is and who pays it. Many coops charge one; some do not.

The common ways buildings compute it:

• A percentage of the sale price
• A percentage of your profit (the sale price minus what you paid)
• An amount for each share your apartment carries
• A flat fee
• A combination, or a rate that changes with how long you owned

The seller usually pays it at closing, but the building's documents or the contract can move some or all of it to the buyer. Ask the managing agent for the current rule in writing before you list, and give it to your attorney: it changes what you net from the sale.

We publish a building's flip tax on its page only after checking it against the building's own documents.

What selling a coop costs you

A coop pays the same transfer taxes as a house or a condo, even though no deed is recorded: New York State's tax of $2 per $500 of the price (0.4%), and in Queens and Brooklyn the City's tax of 1% at $500,000 or less and 1.425% of the whole price above. The seller pays both on a regular resale.

Median closed coop sales, November 2025 to October 2026, the same figures as our coop and condo price pages. Taxes are the statutory rates on each median. The buyer pays the mansion tax at $1 million or more.

Work out your own figure (choose “1–3 family, condo or co-op”):

Sale price

Where Queens or Brooklyn (NYC) Nassau or Suffolk Property 1–3 family, condo or co-op Other (4+ family, mixed-use, land)

Seller's transfer taxes paid by Seller (the usual resale) Buyer, under the contract (e.g. a sponsor sale)

Enter a price to see each tax, who pays it, and the totals.

The other costs of a coop sale (each set by your agreement, the building or the contract, so we do not price them):

• The flip tax, if your building charges one
• The managing agent's fees for the transfer and the documents it prepares, from the building's fee schedule
• A lien search on you and your shares (UCC filings and judgments) before closing; the contract or local practice decides who pays
• Your share-loan payoff, if you have one, and the lender's fees to release your stock certificate and lease
• Maintenance and any assessment through the closing date, adjusted between you and the buyer
• Move-out fees or deposits, if your building charges them
• The broker's commission and your attorney's fee

Every cost a New York seller pays is in what sellers pay at closing; the tax detail is in NYC transfer tax (Queens) and New York transfer tax (Nassau and Suffolk).

How fast coops are selling

Above / at / below final asking: Nassau 31% above, 19% at, 50% below · Suffolk 46% above, 15% at, 39% below · Queens 16% above, 17% at, 67% below. Closed coop sales, November 2025 to October 2026; “year before” is November 2024 to October 2025. “At asking” means within 0.05% of the final asking price.

Nassau coops, month by month

Month	Sales	Median days	At or above asking
Nov 2025	65	33	58%
Dec 2025	72	36	61%
Jan 2026	44	40	45%
Feb 2026	52	41	46%
Mar 2026	64	38	53%
Apr 2026	60	49	42%
May 2026	48	45	44%
Jun 2026	65	39	45%
Jul 2026	62	36	44%
Aug 2026	76	33	50%
Sep 2026	76	38	51%
Oct 2026	71	39	49%

Suffolk coops, month by month

Month	Sales	Median days	At or above asking
Nov 2025	36	28	67%
Dec 2025	27	29	67%
Jan 2026	25	35	48%
Feb 2026	42	31	64%
Mar 2026	26	26	58%
Apr 2026	25	33	68%
May 2026	34	34	50%
Jun 2026	38	27	50%
Jul 2026	30	20	70%
Aug 2026	40	47	53%
Sep 2026	41	26	80%
Oct 2026	34	39	50%

Queens coops, month by month

Month	Sales	Median days	At or above asking
Nov 2025	165	60	32%
Dec 2025	205	58	37%
Jan 2026	196	57	38%
Feb 2026	190	69	29%
Mar 2026	232	70	35%
Apr 2026	190	75	35%
May 2026	173	81	28%
Jun 2026	238	69	35%
Jul 2026	212	57	30%
Aug 2026	208	60	35%
Sep 2026	246	61	27%
Oct 2026	235	61	37%

Month-to-month figures move with the season and with which buildings happened to sell; compare a month with the same month a year earlier rather than with the month before. For coops, condos and houses side by side, see coops vs condos by the numbers.

See what is selling in your building

Buyers compare your apartment with recent sales in the same building. Each of our building pages shows what its apartments have sold for and what is for sale now.

• Nassau coops by town and building (51 building pages)
• Suffolk coops by town and building (14 building pages)
• Queens coops by town and building (134 building pages)

How coops and condos differ for an owner, from board approval to resale, is in coop vs condo in New York.

Where sales go wrong

Most coop sales that stall do so after the contract: a flip-tax clause nobody read, a buyer whose finances do not fit the building's rules, or a board package that goes back and forth. Your own attorney handles the contract. What an Associate Broker who is also an attorney adds is knowing where to look early, so the building's rules and documents are read before you accept an offer, not after.

Common questions

What is a flip tax?

A flip tax is a fee the coop corporation charges when an apartment in the building is sold. It is not a government tax. The building sets it, usually in its proprietary lease, bylaws or a board resolution, and those documents decide the amount and who pays it. Many coops charge one and some do not.

How is a flip tax calculated?

It depends on the building. The common types are a percentage of the sale price, a percentage of the seller's profit, an amount for each share the apartment carries, and a flat fee. Some buildings combine them or change the rate with how long the seller owned. Ask the managing agent for the building's current rule in writing.

Who pays the flip tax, the buyer or the seller?

Usually the seller, paid at closing. The building's documents can put some or all of it on the buyer, and the contract can also shift it, so read both before you list.

How does board approval work when I sell my coop?

After you and your buyer sign the contract, the buyer submits the building's application (the board package) through the managing agent. The board reviews it, often meets the buyer for an interview, and then approves or rejects. In Suffolk County, county law requires a written acknowledgment within 10 days of a completed application and a written decision within 45 days, with the grounds for any rejection. In Nassau and Queens, boards are generally not required to give a reason. No board may reject a buyer for a reason the fair-housing laws prohibit.

What happens if the board rejects my buyer?

Most coop contracts make the sale subject to board approval, so a rejection usually ends the contract and the buyer's deposit is returned. You then go back to the market. Your attorney confirms what your own contract says.

What does it cost to sell a coop?

Every seller pays New York State's transfer tax (0.4% of the price), and in Queens and Brooklyn the City's transfer tax too (1% at $500,000 or less, 1.425% above). Those come to $1,456 on the median Nassau coop sale of $364,000; $1,100 on the median Suffolk coop sale of $275,000; $4,620 on the median Queens coop sale of $330,000 (November 2025 to October 2026). A coop sale adds the flip tax if the building charges one, the managing agent's fees for the transfer, and the payoff of any share loan, along with the broker's commission and your attorney's fee.

How long does it take to sell a coop?

From November 2025 to October 2026, coops spent a median of 38 days on the market in Nassau, 29 in Suffolk and 64 in Queens. The board review comes after the contract, so add the time the board takes to act on the buyer's application before closing.

Sources

• Suffolk County Code, Chapter 391 (Cooperative Housing), §391-3, read 2026-10-29.
• Transfer taxes: New York Tax Law §1402, §1402-a and §1404; NYC Administrative Code §11-2102 and §11-2104 as published by NYC Department of Finance. Rates checked 2026-10-23.
• Coop sales: closed sales in our MLS sold-history database (Stock Cooperative), November 2025 to October 2026. Median price, sales count and days on market are the figures our coop price pages publish; a month shows its figures only with 20 or more sales.

Joseph DeVito is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker and a New York attorney. He does not act as both broker and attorney on the same transaction: here he acts as a real estate broker only, and he is not your attorney. Real estate services provided through Keller Williams Realty Greater Nassau are not legal representation. Everything on this site is general information for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, it creates no attorney-client relationship, and it should not be relied on as legal advice — for advice about your own situation, consult your own attorney.

This page is general information about how coop sales typically work in New York, not legal or tax advice. Your building's documents and your contract decide the flip tax, the fees and the approval process for your sale, so have your own attorney review them.

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