Homes Across the Upper East and West Sides Are Taking Longer to Sell

A year ago, homes across the Upper East and West Sides were selling in a median of 148 days. This period, that same measure rose to 160 days.

That is not a small shift. It is nearly two extra weeks of waiting, showing after showing, before a seller gets to a signed contract. For buyers, it means more room to think before making an offer. For sellers, it means the pace many got used to last year is not the pace on the ground now.

The slowdown was not even across the territory. In New York, NY, homes typically took about 115 days to go to pending in one part of the territory.

In another part of New York, NY, that same measure of time to pending ran closer to 93 days. One metric, two very different experiences inside the same buy box.

Despite the longer timelines, the market did not go quiet. Across the full territory, 581 homes sold this period, and the median sold price came in at $825,000. Sellers are still getting close to what they're asking: the median sale-to-list ratio held at 100%, and about 1.9% of sales closed over the original asking price.

Speed did narrow at the very front end, too. Only about 0.3% of sales across the territory closed within seven days of listing, a reminder that the quick, no-negotiation sale is the exception here, not the rule.

What does a longer runway mean on a Saturday of showings? For a seller, it likely means planning for more weeks on market than last year, and pricing with that runway in mind rather than the faster pace from a year ago. For a buyer, it means less pressure to move immediately on a home that catches your eye, and more room to negotiate on terms.

What to watch next: whether the gap between the fastest and slowest corners of this territory narrows or widens as the next period closes. If the whole territory starts moving at the same pace, that tells a different story than the one these numbers tell now.

Figures are drawn from MLS sold data across New York, NY for the twelve weeks ending August 30, 2026, compared with the same window a year earlier.