Condos can be such a good fit. Lower maintenance, great locations, amenities, lock-and-leave convenience, and sometimes a much easier entry point into a neighborhood you otherwise could not afford.
And then there is the HOA.
This is the part buyers tend to treat like background noise until suddenly it is very much not background noise. Right now, the attached market is carrying more inventory than the detached market, and buyers have more options. DMAR reported that attached inventory was up 9.94% year over year in August, while attached homes were taking a median of 45 days to sell. That creates opportunity for buyers, but it also makes it even more important to understand what you are buying into. Because when you buy a condo, you are not just buying the unit.
You are buying the building.
You are buying the HOA.
You are buying the roof, the elevators, the hallways, the reserves, the insurance, the maintenance history and all the future decisions that association is going to make. Very glamorous.
The monthly HOA fee is only one piece of the puzzle. What I care about just as much is what that fee is actually covering, whether the reserves are healthy, whether there are pending special assessments, what recent repairs have been completed and whether there are larger capital projects on the horizon. A $450 monthly fee with healthy reserves and well-maintained common areas can look a lot different than a $300 fee in a building that is about to need a roof, elevators and exterior repairs. This matters even more in the luxury condo market. DMAR found that attached luxury homes averaged 99 days in MLS in August, compared with 47 days for detached luxury homes. One attached luxury property took 326 days to sell and closed more than $1 million below its original asking price.
That is not because condos are bad. It means buyers are paying very close attention to the entire ownership experience. They are looking at HOA dues, insurance, building condition, amenities, reserves and future costs. If something feels off, they have enough inventory to keep looking. That is where the opportunity is.
For buyers, more inventory can mean more negotiating power and more time to do your homework. You may be able to negotiate price, concessions or repairs in ways that would have been much harder a few years ago.
For sellers, the strategy is a little different. You cannot just market the unit. You have to help the buyer understand the building, the HOA and the lifestyle they are buying into.
And if there is something in the HOA docs that is going to make buyers nervous, pretending it does not exist is not a strategy. My biggest advice if you are condo shopping? Do not fall in love with the view before you understand the paperwork.
The pretty kitchen matters.
The rooftop deck matters.
And the reserve study might matter more!
