Get your finances in order, decide between a condo and a co-op, and work with an agent who knows buildings from the inside. You will tour, make an offer, sign a contract, and either close on a condo or complete a board package and interview for a co-op. Michael guides you through each step.
Michael J. CarrollBrown Harris Stevens(212) 588-5694MCarroll@bhsusa.comBrown Harris Stevens · New York City
The Manhattan apartment
you can call home.
For more than ten years, Michael J. Carroll has expertly guided buyers and sellers through the complexity of the New York City real estate market. He’s a top-ranked broker at Brown Harris Stevens, the city’s oldest and premier residential brokerage.
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- Top 1%Nationwide — WSJ / RealTrends, 2024–2026
- 10 yearsin the New York City market
- Est. 1873Brown Harris Stevens — NYC's oldest & premier residential brokerage
- $500K–$25M+transaction range
- Board Presidentand leader of NYC's condo & co-op board members association
The language of NYC real estate
New York, in its own words.
- Upper West Side
- Upper East Side
- Central Park West
- Riverside Drive
- Lincoln Square
- Tribeca
- Greenwich Village
- West Village
- SoHo
- Financial District
- New development
- Pre-war
- Condominium
- Co-op
- Board approval
- Classic seven
- Brown Harris Stevens
- Manhattan
- Since 1873
The search
Finding a home, not just a listing.
People come to New York with the same quiet hopes — room to grow, light in the morning, a place that finally feels like their own. The word everyone uses is apartment, and what they mean is home.
Michael has lived on the Upper West Side for more than thirty years and has built his practice almost entirely on referrals. He listens first, explains plainly, and never rushes a decision this important — whether you’re buying or selling.
The first decision
Condominium or co-op, explained simply.
Nearly every NYC search starts here. The difference is simpler than it sounds, and it shapes your price, your paperwork, and which buildings are right for you.
Condominium
Condominium
A condominium is real property — you hold the deed to your apartment, the same way you would own a house. There is no board approval to buy, so condos welcome foreign buyers, LLCs, pieds-à-terre, and financing flexibility (a second home valued at $1 million or more by the city now carries an annual surcharge). That freedom is why they command a premium; the Manhattan condo median was about $1.75 million in the first quarter of 2026 (Miller Samuel / Elliman).
Cooperative (co-op)
Cooperative
With a co-op you buy shares in the corporation that owns the building and receive a proprietary lease for your apartment, rather than a deed. A board reviews and approves every purchaser, and the rules are stricter — but prices are typically lower, near an $850,000 median in the first quarter of 2026 (Miller Samuel / Elliman). Roughly three quarters of Manhattan apartments are co-ops.
- 10 yearsin the New York City market
- Top 1%Nationwide — WSJ / RealTrends, 2024–2026
- Est. 1873Brown Harris Stevens — NYC's oldest & premier residential brokerage
- $500K–$25M+Transaction range
The key advantage
Michael knows buildings from the inside.
Buying in Manhattan is unlike anywhere else in the country; it’s complicated, competitive, and expensive. Michael guides you through the process from start to finish with deep knowledge, tenacity, and patience. He has completed hundreds of transactions and has seen almost every type of complexity.
He is president of his Upper West Side condominium board and leads a group of co-op and condo board members across New York City. He understands how boards read a package, what raises a flag, and what makes an application sail through, because he sits on the side of the table that decides.
The neighborhoods
Manhattan, the way an insider knows it.
From Riverside Drive to Fifth Avenue, on both sides of the park, these are the corners of the city Michael walks every day.
A walk through Manhattan
The neighborhood, captured in light.
Pre-war facades, leafy crossings, river light, and the warm interiors people come here to find. Every photo is a place Michael walks every week.
Central Park surrounded by the Manhattan skyline, seen from above
Manhattan skyline anchored by the Empire State Building at sunset
The Manhattan skyline glowing at golden hour
The city skyline seen down a tree-lined street at sunset
A modern Manhattan condominium with cascading balconies
The Manhattan skyline over the East River
“The headline market matters less than your building and your timing. A strong quarter does not make every apartment a good buy.”
— Michael J. Carroll
The homes buyers ask about
The kinds of apartments people come here for.
Representative of the homes Michael helps clients buy and sell across the Upper West Side and Manhattan.
Pre-war co-op
The classic seven
Central Park West condo
On the park
Near Riverside Park
Light-filled two bedroom
Two apartments made one
The combination home
Renovated and ready
Move-in condition
Inside the home
Light, space, and a view of the city.
From sunlit pre-war living rooms to penthouses on the park — the rooms Michael's clients call home.
A luxury Manhattan penthouse living room with floor-to-ceiling glass
A living room with a large window and abundant natural light
A refined navy and ivory primary bedroom with a tufted headboard
A chaise beside a sunlit living room window
A light-filled Manhattan bedroom with floor-to-ceiling windows
A bedroom with a round mirror above the bed
Michael J. Carroll
Brown Harris Stevens
Meet Michael
Three decades on the Upper West Side.
Michael came to New York more than thirty years ago and never left the Upper West Side. Before real estate he built a career in publishing, in leadership roles at Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times, and as Associate Publisher of Town & Country.
For the past ten years he has sold Manhattan apartments at Brown Harris Stevens, the oldest brokerage in New York, founded in 1873. His practice runs almost entirely on referrals, and a typical relationship lasts about a year from the first meeting to the closing table.
Today he is president of his condominium board and leads a working group of neighborhood co-op and condo board members.
The record
Recognized, and trusted across New York.
Awards and rankings
- Ranked #40 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — July 2026
- Ranked #17 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — March 2026
- WSJ and RealTrends Verified — Top 1% nationwide, 2026
- Ranked #12 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — November 2025
- WSJ and RealTrends Verified — Top 1% nationwide, 2025
- RealTrends Verified — New York individual agent by sales volume, 2024
- WSJ and RealTrends Verified — Top 1% nationwide, 2024
- Ranked #2 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — July 2023
- Ranked #15 companywide — Top 1% companywide, Brown Harris Stevens, 2023
- Brown Harris Stevens NYC Million Dollar Club, 2023
- Brown Harris Stevens NYC Producers Council, 2022
- Brown Harris Stevens NYC Top 50 Sales, 2022
- Ranked #6 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — May 2022
- Ranked #9 companywide, Brown Harris Stevens — February 2022
- Manhattan Rookie of the Year, Brown Harris Stevens — 2017
Memberships & service
Real Estate Board of New York
Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums
Central Park Conservancy
New York Athletic Club
President, Upper West Side condominium board
When you're ready
Let's find your next home — or sell the one you have.
Whether you are ready to look this week, thinking about selling, or just wondering if now is the time, the next step is a simple conversation with Michael.
Answers
Common Manhattan real estate questions, answered by Michael.
- A condo is real property you own outright with no board approval, which is why condos cost more and suit flexibility, foreign buyers, and LLCs. A co-op means owning shares with board approval, usually at a lower price but with more rules. The right answer depends on your goals, finances, and the specific building.
- Condos often allow 10 to 20 percent down. Co-ops are stricter and commonly require 20 to 30 percent, with some buildings asking 40 to 50 percent or all cash. Co-op boards also want to see liquid reserves after closing, often 12 to 24 months of carrying costs, on top of the down payment.
- Plan for approximately 4 to 6 percent of the purchase price. Buyers owe the mansion tax on purchases of $1 million or more, starting at 1 percent and rising with price. Financed condo buyers also pay a mortgage recording tax near 1.9 percent and title insurance. Co-ops avoid both, so their closing costs are lower.
- From accepted offer to closing usually runs about three to four months. The contract and financing take a few weeks, then you assemble a board package, the board reviews it, and you sit for an interview before approval. Condos move faster because there is no board approval, only a right of first refusal.
- Yes, and condos are the natural fit. Condos allow foreign buyers, LLCs, trusts, pied-a-terre use, and investors with far fewer restrictions. Most co-ops limit or prohibit these structures and require the apartment to be a primary residence. Budget for one new cost if the apartment will not be your primary residence: New York's annual pied-à-terre surcharge, in force since July 1, 2026, on apartments the city values at $1 million or more. If you are buying through an entity, or the apartment will not be your primary residence, Michael starts from each building's written rules and points you to the ones that fit.
- Price it to the current market, prepare and present it well, and market it where serious buyers look. Expect to pay broker commission, transfer taxes, and, for many co-ops, a flip tax. Michael frames every sale around your net proceeds so you know what you will actually walk away with before you list.
- For a well-priced apartment, usually yes: Manhattan's median sale price set a record in the second quarter of 2026 and signed contracts hit a five-year high (Miller Samuel / Elliman; Corcoran), though sales under $2 million softened while co-ops gained. Your building, your price point, and your timing matter more than the headline, and Michael will tell you honestly whether your apartment is positioned to sell well now.
- Look for a track record at your price point, genuine building-level knowledge, and someone who protects your interests through the board process. Michael has handled transactions from $500,000 to over $25 million, holds a WSJ / RealTrends top 1% ranking nationwide, and as a sitting Upper West Side condo board president knows from the inside how buildings evaluate buyers.
A private consultation
Start the conversation with Michael
Tell Michael where you are in the process and what matters most to you. Whether you're buying or selling — ready this week or just weighing your options — he'll help you think it through.
What happens next
- 01
Michael reads your note personally
No team inbox. He sees the form himself.
- 02
You'll hear back, usually the same day
By phone or email — whichever you prefer.
- 03
A no-pressure first conversation
Whether you're ready this week or thinking it through.
10+
Years at BHS
Top 1%
Nationwide
$500K–$25M+
Transaction range
Tell Michael about your search
A few quick questions.
Your details stay between you and Michael. No spam. No list.