What a New NYC Condo Spends in Year One

Updated Sep 29, 2026 · 4 min read

The Headline Number: Operating Cost per Unit

The average first-year operating budget works out to about $9,400 per residential unit per year. That number hides a wide spread by building size (sizes with fewer than five plans are left out):

In recent plans, 7–12 unit buildings have the lowest per-unit cost. Small buildings split fixed costs (insurance, accounting, a management fee) among few owners; large ones add elevators, staff and amenities.

By borough, the average per unit per year: Brooklyn $7,100, Queens $5,900, Manhattan $27,500. To judge a specific building's charges, see how much condo common charges should be in NYC.

Where the Money Goes: Schedule B Line Items

Average share of the expense budget, among plans that have each line:

Insurance is the second-biggest of the 9 line kinds in the table, an average 17% of the budget. Sponsors' budgets are based on quotes at the time of filing; buyers should expect the first renewal to come in higher.

Water and sewer is bigger than most buyers expect, an average 15%. NYC DEP bills the building, not the unit, and rates rise nearly every year.

Management fees are worth reading. The average management line in these budgets is about $21,900 a year, or roughly $1,400 per unit a year, an average 14% of the budget. The managing agents directory shows which firms manage NYC condos.

The catch: in 24% of these plans the sponsor manages the building itself during the first year, and 118 of those 149 record no fee for it. That looks like a saving; it isn't. The budget will jump when the board hires a real manager.

The reserve line is often decorative. The budgeted reserve or contingency is an average 12%, but the actual funded reserve at closing is a separate item. Where a plan states a reserve fund amount, the average is only about $12,100, and 28% of those plans put it at zero. Look for the working capital fund and the reserve fund in Part I of the plan, not just Schedule B.

What's Usually Missing from a First-Year Budget

Schedule B is a sponsor's estimate, prepared to make the common charges look reasonable. Common omissions:

• Real property taxes on the units (paid by owners, not the condo, so correctly excluded, but easy to forget when comparing to a co-op)
• Local Law 11 façade work, roof replacement, boiler replacement (capital, not operating)
• Staff salary increases after the first union contract
• Insurance at renewal rather than at filing

Some plans include a certification from a managing agent or accountant that the budget is reasonable. Some don't. The plan says which.

How to Read a Schedule B

Schedule B is organized by section: Income (common charges, sometimes commercial or parking income), then Expenses, then a total. If there's a commercial or garage unit, there may be separate sub-budgets. The footnotes explain the assumptions behind each line, and that's where the real information is: the insurance quote, the management contract, whether the super lives on site.

Budgets change after closing. Later budgets are filed as amendments under the same plan ID; see how to find and read offering plan amendments.

See the Actual Budgets

The Condo Book Project has parsed Schedule B for over 1,800 NYC offering plans into line items you can compare. Open any building from The Condo Book Project's search and check the Budget tab, or search "buildings with insurance over 20% of budget". The common charges data page has per-unit and per-square-foot figures by building size.

Related: Condo Supplies Cost per Unit, by Size · Does Your New Condo Have a Reserve Fund?