Do NYC apartments sell below asking price?

Slightly more than half of the sold listings CurbScoop matched to a first asking price closed below that price. The median outcome is a low single-digit percentage discount.

Should I offer below asking on a NYC apartment?

The data shows below-ask outcomes are common but not universal, and the gap is usually small. What the comparable units in the same building actually recorded matters far more than a blanket rule.

Do NYC apartments sell for their asking price?

Comparing every sold NYC listing against its first asking price shows how much sellers actually concede. CurbScoop measures the median gap and how often apartments sell below ask.

Updated Aug 18, 2026 · 4 min read

Every asking price is a hypothesis. The sale price is the result. Because CurbScoop keeps the full price history of each listing, we can compare the two directly: what a seller first asked, and what the apartment eventually recorded.

Sold listings matched

10,269

with a first asking price

Median gap vs first ask

-2.9%

Sold below first ask

53.1%

Live CurbScoop listing price history, generated Aug 19, 2026.

The headline

Across 10,269 sold listings we could match to an original asking price, the median outcome was -2.9% against the first ask, and 53.1% of apartments sold below the price they launched at.

That is a more interesting result than either side of the negotiation usually admits. Sellers are right that most apartments do not collapse in price - the typical concession is low single digits, not a fire sale. Buyers are right that the asking price is rarely the final word - closer to half of all listings settle underneath it.

What this measures

This compares each listing's first recorded asking price with its final recorded sale price, using the listing's own price history. It therefore captures the entire journey, including every intermediate price cut - not just the discount from the last asking price before contract.

Why the first ask is the honest benchmark

Measuring against the last asking price flatters everyone. A seller who lists at $1.5m, cuts to $1.3m, and sells at $1.29m can truthfully say they got 99% of asking - while having conceded 14% from where they started. The first ask is the number the seller actually believed, so it is the number worth measuring against.

This is also why price-cut rates and this figure belong together: the cut rate shows how often the hypothesis was wrong, and this shows how wrong.

Using this on your own apartment

Treat neighboring asking prices as a read on competition, not value. Half of them will not hold.
Anchor on recorded sales. A deed is evidence; an ask is an opinion.
If you are setting a price, the practical question is not "what can I ask?" but "what did the last comparable unit in this building actually record, and what has changed since?"

Our guide to finding real comps covers how to pick those units, and how to read an ACRIS record covers how to check what they truly sold for.

Common questions

Do NYC apartments sell below asking price?: Slightly more than half of the sold listings CurbScoop matched to a first asking price closed below that price. The median outcome is a low single-digit percentage discount.
Should I offer below asking on a NYC apartment?: The data shows below-ask outcomes are common but not universal, and the gap is usually small. What the comparable units in the same building actually recorded matters far more than a blanket rule.

Keep reading

Where NYC sellers cut asking prices most How long it takes to sell an apartment in NYC What is a BBL, and why does it matter for your apartment?