Should I Sell or Rent My Condo? What It Would Cost to Buy Your Own Condo Today, With a Real Example

At today's mortgage rates, a buyer of a $1.25 million condo pays over $9,000 a month. Here is the formula condo and townhome owners across Los Angeles can use to compare selling, renting, and holding, and how The Condo Experts' Condo Clarity Report runs it for you.

By Brian Maser, Founder & Broker, The Condo Experts

Key Takeaways

At a 7.18% 30-year fixed rate, a buyer of a $1.25 million condo with 20% down pays about $9,024 a month in principal, interest, property taxes, insurance, and HOA dues.

Owners who bought years ago often pay far less to keep their unit than a buyer would pay to purchase it today. That gap explains most current pricing dynamics.

Selling, renting, living in the property, and leaving it vacant each produce a distinct monthly financial result. You can calculate all four with the formula below.

Condominiums require a building-level review. Whether lenders will finance the building affects both your market price and your buyer pool.

The Condo Clarity Report is our sell, rent, or hold analysis for condo owners. It is the first step before launching our Pre-Packaged Condo Sale™.

Condo and townhome owners, here is a question almost nobody asks: if you had to buy your own unit today, what would it cost you?

Not what it is worth on paper. What it would cost out of pocket every single month.

We recently ran this calculation for an owner of a $1.25 million condo. The answer was over $9,000 a month. That single number changed the entire conversation.

Where the Market Stands This Week

Bond yields eased and mortgage rates followed. The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 7.18% in the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week of November 5, marking its third consecutive weekly decline. One year ago, that figure stood at 6.22%.

A little rate relief helps, but it does not change ground conditions across Los Angeles. Inventory continues to sit on the market. On select smaller units in neighborhoods from Santa Monica to West Hollywood, we have adjusted pricing downward by roughly 15% to align with active buyer purchasing power.

Pricing is discovered by the market, not declared by a seller. Today, the buyer's monthly payment dictates that discovery process. If you want to see what buyers in today's market are actually able to finance, explore our buyer resources.

What Is the Condo Clarity Report?

The Condo Clarity Report is an objective sell, rent, or hold analysis for condo and townhome owners, developed by The Condo Experts. It shows:

What a qualified buyer would pay each month for your unit across three realistic price tiers.

Three estimated net closing statements, showing your exact take-home proceeds at each valuation.

A direct rent-versus-sell comparison using verified local rental comps.

The true monthly holding cost of keeping the unit, whether you occupy it or leave it vacant.

A building lending analysis via CondoNAV, confirming whether major lenders will approve loans in your development and identifying future ownership costs.

We assemble the data, deliver the breakdown, and review the numbers with you directly.

The Decision Formula, Step by Step

You can run this baseline calculation on your own kitchen table. Here is the framework:

Buyer's monthly carrying cost = principal and interest + property taxes + hazard/HO-6 insurance + HOA dues.

Net cash proceeds from a sale = gross contract price − transaction selling costs − existing mortgage payoff.

Monthly income from invested proceeds = net cash proceeds × annual safe yield ÷ 12.

Net monthly rental cash flow = gross rent − HOA dues − property taxes − insurance − vacancy and maintenance reserve − your current mortgage payment.

Monthly cost to hold (owner-occupied or vacant) = HOA dues + property taxes + insurance + your current mortgage payment.

Building eligibility audit = can institutional lenders finance purchases in this HOA, and what special assessments or deferred maintenance loom ahead?

Steps 1 through 5 are straightforward math. Step 6 is where condominiums diverge entirely from single-family homes, and it is where we deploy CondoNAV.

A Real Example: A $1.25 Million Condo

Here is how the numbers pencil on a representative $1.25 million Los Angeles condominium, using current interest rates and standard market inputs.

Baseline Inputs for This Property

1. What a Buyer Pays Each Month

Every $62,500 adjustment in purchase price shifts the buyer's monthly commitment by roughly $400. That monthly difference is the exact trade-off buyers evaluate when deciding whether to write an offer.

2. Three Estimated Net Closing Scenarios

3. Comparing Every Strategy Side by Side

Examine the third line closely: this homeowner pays $4,300 a month to live in a home that costs an incoming buyer $9,024 a month to purchase. That gap explains the stand-off in today's housing market better than any abstract economic headline.

Ready to see how your specific property stacks up against these numbers? Request your personalized Condo Clarity Report from The Condo Experts.

Critical Factors the Raw Numbers Overlook

Cash flow calculations tell only half the story.

Leasing the property continues your mortgage amortization and keeps you leveraged in Los Angeles real estate. It also brings tenant placement, day-to-day repairs, eviction risks, and vacancy periods.

Selling liquidates your equity into cash, but capital gains liabilities can reduce your actual net proceeds.

Most importantly, building-level liabilities can overturn these calculations overnight. Unfunded reserves, imminent special assessments, and skyrocketing master insurance premiums will alter both your cash flow and your unit's resale demand.

We review every report alongside you. We are licensed real estate brokers, not certified public accountants or wealth managers. For specific tax implications like 1031 exchanges or primary residence exclusions under Section 121, we always instruct clients to consult their CPA.

Why Condominium Sales Demand Specialized Due Diligence

A single-family residence is primarily an evaluation of the physical structure and the land. A condominium is a combined evaluation of the private airspace and the collective health of the entire common-interest development.

Under guidelines enforced by the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac), mortgage underwriters scrutinize the entire development before approving a loan on an individual unit.

If an association carries insufficient replacement reserves, faces critical structural maintenance, or holds open litigation, lenders will classify the project as non-warrantable. When lenders refuse to back the building, your prospective buyer pool drops, conventional financing disappears, and your achievable sale price drops with it.

CondoNAV audits your building's underwriting eligibility before you position the property on the market, rather than letting an escrow fail thirty days into a contract.

Standard residential agents focus on staging and photography. We evaluate the building's financial health, examine reserve studies, and audit the underlying numbers. Over 25 years in Los Angeles real estate, the tools and market data have never been more precise. You need clear analytics, and you need a specialized broker who understands how to execute on them.

Where This Fits in Our Advisory Process

The Condo Clarity Report: Establish your baseline numbers, stress-test your holding options, and inspect your building's lending eligibility.

The Pre-Packaged Condo Sale™: If selling proves to be your optimal financial path, we compile the complete HOA package, lending certifications, and property disclosures before going live. Your buyer verifies the facts upfront during escrow instead of discovering red flags midway through inspections.

Request Your Custom Condo Clarity Report

Call our office directly at (310) 494-2979, or email us with the following details:

Property street address and unit number

Current monthly principal and interest payment

Current property tax assessment and hazard insurance figures

Current monthly HOA dues

Remaining mortgage payoff balance

Your best guess at current market value, no need to be exact, we'll confirm it against verified comps

Your best guess at market rental rate, same here, just a starting point for us to confirm

Every record you share remains confidential. We will run your unit through our valuation model, deliver three closing net scenarios, and review the data with you. If you decide to evaluate the property further, we provide a complimentary building review and unit inspection. No aggressive sales pressure. Just factual clarity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I sell or rent my condo in Los Angeles?

Your decision depends on your current interest rate, operating costs, local market rent, and the capital condition of your HOA. Calculate your net return under both pathways using the formula above, then evaluate tax consequences, historical appreciation, and upcoming building assessments with your advisors.

How much does it cost to buy a $1.25 million condo today?

Assuming a 20% down payment and a 7.18% 30-year fixed loan, the total monthly payment is approximately $9,024. That figure covers principal, interest, standard property taxes, hazard insurance, and $850 in monthly HOA fees.

What is an estimated net closing statement?

An estimated net closing statement itemizes your anticipated net walk-away cash at the completion of an escrow: your gross sales price minus brokerage commissions, escrow and title fees, transfer taxes, and your remaining mortgage debt. We model three scenarios at different pricing levels.

How does a condo valuation differ from a single-family house?

A condo's marketability depends directly on the entire building. Institutional lender eligibility, HOA reserve levels, shared master insurance policies, and deferred maintenance dictate buyer financing terms and market value.

What is CondoNAV?

CondoNAV is our proprietary building intelligence platform. It assesses HOA lending compliance, identifies financing restrictions, and evaluates long-term association costs. Unit owners, prospective buyers, and HOA board members can learn more directly at condonav.com.

What information is required to generate a Condo Clarity Report?

Provide your unit address, monthly loan payment, tax and insurance figures, HOA dues, outstanding mortgage principal, and your best guess at selling price and rental rate, just a starting point, we'll confirm everything against actual comps before building your report.

Making a major housing move requires factual data, not generic market optimism.

When everything is known, everything works.

Verifiable Market Sources

Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: 30-year fixed-rate mortgage benchmark averaged 7.18% (November 5, 2026 update).

Crane Data Crane 100 Money Fund Index: 7-day annualized net yield stood at 3.75% (November 9, 2026 release).

All figures in this example are rounded to the nearest dollar for clarity. Individual property outcomes depend on existing loan terms, assessed valuations, HOA budget health, and local contract pricing.