Co-Op vs Condo Discount

You have to add condo taxes to the maintenance of a condo to get an apples to apples comparison

Also, you should add the coop's portion of the underlying mortgage to the purchase price, again to try to get an apples to apples comparison.

Disagree about adding back the coop's portion of the underlying mortgage, since you're already counting that cost in the monthlies (part of the maintenance goes to service the underlying mortgage, so counting both that monthly maintenance and the pro-rata share of the underlying mortgage would be double counting).

Given that these days coop and non tax abated condo monthlies are very similar vs in past when condos were lower (mortgage rates have gone down whereas taxes have gone up), for the same product condos should trade at a small premium (5-10%) due to flexibility to rent and a lack of board interview (which some people dislike more than others; potential decrease in resale).

Easy financing for condos is not much of a factor anymore as lender's standards are not too dissimilar to coop financial requirements).

However, condo market in the recent years has been driven by out of town buyers including foreigners (who would not qualify for a coop) resulting in increased premium. In addition at the high-end (5mm plus), buyers may be less tolerant of the coop process, increasing the condo premium for this category further.

My opinion is that premium is running in the 20-30 percent range which will narrow by coop prices appreciation relative to condo prices. At the end of the day, if you want to live in the apt for 10 years and do not mind the coop process, which I found very easy - just have to get paperwork, be polite, have a regular income, and be willing to work with people), why spend 20 percent more monthly.