Where NYC sellers cut asking prices most
Nearly half of listings in some NYC neighborhoods cut their asking price. Price-cut rates and typical discount size by neighborhood, from live listing data.
Updated Aug 18, 2026 · 4 min read
A price cut is the clearest signal a seller will give you. It says the asking price was set above what buyers were willing to pay, and it is recorded publicly the moment it happens. Across the New York City neighborhoods CurbScoop tracks, cuts are not a rarity - in the most-discounted areas roughly half of all sale listings reduce their price within a year of coming to market.
Where sellers cut most
The table below ranks neighborhoods by the share of sale listings that recorded at least one price cut in the last twelve months. Only neighborhoods with at least 50 listings in that window are included, so a handful of discounted apartments cannot distort the ranking.
| Neighborhood | Listings | Cut price | Share cutting | Median cut |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Harlem | 73 | 44 | 60.3% | -4.5% |
| Central Park South | 104 | 56 | 53.8% | -6.2% |
| Hudson Heights | 115 | 61 | 53% | -4.4% |
| Midtown South | 73 | 38 | 52.1% | -4% |
| Washington Heights | 73 | 38 | 52.1% | -4.8% |
| Midwood | 217 | 111 | 51.2% | -3.5% |
| Flatbush | 114 | 57 | 50% | -4.8% |
| Fort Hamilton | 105 | 52 | 49.5% | -3.3% |
| Kips Bay | 175 | 86 | 49.1% | -3.8% |
| Chelsea | 268 | 131 | 48.9% | -4.5% |
| Brighton Beach | 158 | 77 | 48.7% | -3.5% |
| Bay Ridge | 150 | 73 | 48.7% | -3.3% |
| Turtle Bay | 304 | 147 | 48.4% | -4% |
| Kew Gardens | 57 | 27 | 47.4% | -4.2% |
| Sheepshead Bay | 203 | 96 | 47.3% | -3.6% |
Live CurbScoop listing data, sale listings from the last 12 months, generated Oct 3, 2026.
How big is a typical cut?
The headline share tells you how often sellers blink. The median cut column tells you how hard. Across these neighborhoods a single reduction typically lands in the region of 4-5% of the asking price - in East Harlem, the most-discounted market on this list, the median cut is -4.5%.
That number understates the full concession, because it measures one cut rather than the distance traveled from the first asking price. Listings that cut once often cut again, and the gap between the original ask and the eventual sale price is wider than any single reduction. We measure that gap directly in asking price versus sale price.
What to do with this
- If you are selling, check whether the listings that cut in your building were priced above recent recorded sales to begin with. That is usually the whole story.
- If you are buying, a listing that has already cut once has demonstrated flexibility - and the price history is public.
- If you simply own and want to know where you stand, watch the cuts and recorded sales around you rather than the asking prices, which are aspirations rather than outcomes.
CurbScoop tracks every price cut, contract, and recorded sale around a property you watch, and tells you when something relevant moves. See all neighborhoods or start with your own apartment.
Common questions
- How common are price cuts in NYC?
- Across the neighborhoods CurbScoop tracks with meaningful listing volume, roughly 40-52% of sale listings recorded at least one price cut within a year of listing.
- How big is a typical NYC price cut?
- The median single price cut clusters around 4-5% of the asking price. Listings that cut once frequently cut again, so the total reduction from first ask can be larger.
- Does a price cut mean the apartment is overpriced?
- Usually it means the original asking price was above what the current buyer pool will pay. Comparing against recent recorded sales in the same building is the fastest way to tell whether the reduced price is now realistic.