Where Buying a Condo Can Save You the Most

To understand where condos offer the biggest savings for homebuyers, Movoto analyzed active condo and single-family home listings across the U.S. in early October 2026.

See also: 9 Things to Know Before You Buy a Condo

How much less do condos cost than single-family homes?

For many buyers, a condo can be a step into homeownership, and it’s usually the lower-priced option. Across all active listings in early October, the median condo was listed at $359,990, compared with $439,900 for a single-family home. That’s about 18%, or roughly $80,000, less.

A condo can be an especially useful move in desirable (and pricey) markets. The price gap was widest in Honolulu, Key West and Miami, where condos were listed for about half the price of a single-family home or less.

Condos also made up a larger share of the lower-priced homes on the market. About 38% of condo listings were priced under $300,000, compared with about 26% of single-family listings. Condos made up about 27% of all homes listed under $300,000, even though they made up only about 20% of listings overall.

Part of the price difference likely comes down to size. The median condo listing had two bedrooms and 1,296 square feet, while the median single-family listing had three bedrooms and 2,000 square feet. Per square foot, condos were actually listed higher nationally, at about $263 compared with about $214 for single-family homes. For many buyers, that means a lower total price in exchange for less space.

The size of the gap varied widely from one metro to the next.

Where are condos cheapest compared with houses?

In the typical metro, condos were listed for about 33% less than single-family homes, a bigger gap than the 18% national figure. In five metros, the gap reached 50% or more.

Honolulu topped the list, with the median condo listing price of $540,000, compared with nearly $1.3 million for a single-family home, a difference of 58.5%. However, condos also offered considerably less space, with a median of about 780 square feet, compared with about 1,780 square feet for single-family homes.

Key West followed closely, with condos listed for 58.2% less than single-family homes. Miami-Fort Lauderdale ranked third, where the median condo was listed at $359,000, less than half of the $750,000 median for a single-family home.

Several large metros outside Florida and Hawaii also had wide gaps. In Baltimore and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, condos were listed for about half the price of a single-family home or a little more. Las Vegas, Nevada, Denver, Colorado, Portland, Oregon, and San Jose, California, each had gaps of about 45% to 49%.

Here’s where condos cost the least compared with single-family homes:

Where condos cost about the same as a house, or more

While condos were generally the lower-priced option, that wasn’t the case everywhere. In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for example, the median condo there was listed at $339,900, compared with $220,000 for a single-family home. Condo listings there were also larger than the local single-family median, at about 1,695 square feet compared with 1,573.

Condos also had higher median listing prices in Pensacola, Florida, Hilo, Hawaii, and Corpus Christi, Texas. In Detroit, Michigan, and Cleveland, Ohio, the two property types were priced much more similarly, with the median prices within about $4,000 of each other.

What a condo costs each month, including HOA fees

A lower listing price doesn’t always mean a lower monthly payment. While condos typically cost less than single-family homes upfront, monthly HOA fees can reduce those savings.

To compare monthly costs, Movoto estimated the mortgage payment on the median-priced condo and single-family home in each metro, assuming a 10% down payment and the current 30-year fixed rate of 7.40%, and then added each metro’s median condo HOA fee to the condo payment. (Full details are in the methodology below.)

Nationally, the estimated payment on a typical condo was about $2,243 a month, compared with about $2,741 for a typical single-family home, a difference of about $498. The median condo HOA fee of $421 would cover most of that difference.

The impact of HOA fees on monthly savings depends heavily on the market. In the highest-priced metros, the savings held up even after HOA fees.

In Heber, Utah, the estimated monthly cost of a typical condo, including its HOA fee, came to about $4,735 less than the payment on a typical single-family home. In San Jose, California, the difference was about $4,145. Key West, Florida, and Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco, California, also showed savings of about $2,400 a month or more.

Even in Miami, where the median condo HOA fee was $744, condos still came out about $1,692 a month lower than the mortgage payment for a typical single-family home.

Here’s where condos offered the largest estimated monthly savings:

In other markets, the HOA fee was enough to erase the monthly payment advantage of buying a condo. In seven metros, condos had a lower median list price than single-family homes, but higher estimated monthly costs once HOA fees were included.

Panama City, Florida, is the clearest example of HOA fees offsetting a lower condo price. The median condo there was listed at $379,000, about $40,000 less than the median single-family home, but a median HOA fee of $858 pushed the estimated monthly cost about $609 above the single-family payment.

For buyers comparing a condo with a house, the HOA fee can matter as much as the asking price.

How long do condos sit on the market?

Condo listings had also been on the market longer in most metros. Nationally, the median condo had been listed for 78 days, compared with 70 days for a single-family home, and condos had the longer median time on market in 89 of the 106 metros analyzed.

The gap was widest in Gulf Coast markets. In Corpus Christi, Texas, the median condo had been listed for 156 days, nearly twice the 82-day median for a single-family home. Condos in Panama City, Pensacola, North Port-Sarasota and Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, all in Florida, had been listed 40 to 50 days longer than houses in the same metros.

For buyers, a condo that has been listed for months may offer more room to negotiate on price, closing costs or repairs, since the seller has already been waiting. For sellers in these markets, it’s a sign that a condo needs to be priced competitively from the start.

What this means for condo buyers

For buyers priced out of single-family homes, condos may offer a more affordable path to homeownership, especially in metros like Miami, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Las Vegas and Denver, where condos were listed for a significantly lower price than single-family homes. Those price advantages may come with sacrifices in space, however.

Before comparing listings, adding the HOA fee to the estimated mortgage payment can help get a clearer picture of what you can afford. In markets like Cape Coral–Fort Myers, Panama City and New York, New York, the HOA fee was large enough to make a typical condo cost more each month than a typical house. It’s also worth asking what the fee covers and whether the association has any planned assessments that could increase costs.

In markets where condos have been listed for a long time, such as the Gulf Coast metros above, buyers may have more room to negotiate on price or closing costs.

What this means for condo sellers

For condo sellers, the findings show the importance of understanding how their property compares with other homes on the market, both in listing price and monthly ownership costs.

In markets with high HOA fees, buyers may be weighing the total monthly costs of a condo against similarly priced single-family homes. Sellers should consider how those fees affect affordability when setting their asking price and be prepared to explain what the HOA covers.

In metros where condos have been listed longer than single-family homes, competitive pricing may be especially important. Setting an asking price that reflects comparable condo listings, recent sales and local market conditions can help sellers set realistic expectations.