Buying Your Next Home Before Selling: How It Works in New York

The short answer: there are three ways to move up. Sell first and you know your sale price before you commit to the next home, but you may need somewhere to live in between. Buy first and you move once, but you pay for two homes until the first one closes. Close both on the same day and you avoid both problems, but two contracts have to hold to one date. Which fits depends on what you can carry and how quickly homes like yours are selling, and the second part is measurable, below.

How long sales are taking right now

Whole-county figures from closed sales, the 12 months to October 2026. Days to contract is the median time from listing to an accepted contract; closing comes after that.

How to read it: fewer months of supply means fewer homes for sale against the pace of sales. These are county medians over a past period, not a forecast for your home. Your own price range, condition and location can move faster or slower, and nobody can promise a sale date.

Data courtesy of OneKey® MLS as distributed by MLS GRID, October 1, 2025 – October 6, 2026.

Based on information from OneKey® MLS, for the period October 1, 2025 through October 6, 2026.

These figures describe the local market over the period stated, not this property, and are provided for informational purposes only. Market conditions change, and past closed sales do not predict what any individual home will sell for. Independently verify this information and seek professional advice before making or accepting an offer.

Option 1: sell first

You list, sign a contract with a buyer, and close before you buy. You know exactly what your home sold for, you never carry two homes, and when you make an offer on the next one there is no sale of yours for that seller to wait on.

The cost is the gap. If your sale closes before you find the next home, you need somewhere to live and may move twice. Two things can narrow the gap, and both must be agreed in the contract: a later closing date, or an agreement to stay in the home for a period after closing (often called a post-closing occupancy or rent-back). The buyer does not have to agree to either.

Option 2: buy first

You buy the next home, move once, and sell the old one empty or after you have moved. The cost is carrying two homes until the first one closes. Before you commit, write down what you would pay on both at the same time:

• two mortgage payments, if you have a mortgage on either;
• two property tax bills, and any co-op maintenance or condo common charges;
• two insurance policies — and ask your insurer how an empty home is covered;
• utilities, upkeep, lawn and snow on a home nobody is living in.

We do not print a typical total because there isn't one: it is your own bills, multiplied by how long the first home takes to sell. The table above shows how long that has been taking.

Financing two homes is a lender's call: whether you qualify for the new mortgage while you still owe on the old one, and whether you can borrow against the home you are selling. Some lenders offer a short-term bridge loan for this, usually secured by the home you are selling. Its availability, cost and terms are set by the lender, so ask one directly. We do not recommend any loan or lender.

Option 3: close both on the same day

One way to avoid the gap is a simultaneous closing: the sale closes first and its proceeds fund the purchase later the same day. In a New York sale each closing involves attorneys for both sides, a title company and, where there is a loan, the buyer's lender, so the same-day plan depends on two contracts setting the same date and every party being ready. A delay on either side, such as a buyer's loan approval running late, can push both closings.

The usual way to protect yourself is in the contracts themselves: matching the closing dates, and in your purchase contract, a home sale contingency, below.

How a home sale contingency works in New York

In New York an accepted offer is generally not yet a deal. After the price is agreed, the seller's attorney prepares the contract and the buyer's attorney reviews it. The deal becomes binding when both sides sign and the buyer's down payment is delivered. A home sale contingency is a clause in that contract making the purchase depend on the buyer selling their own home by a set date. If the sale does not happen in time, the buyer can cancel on the terms the contract spells out.

It is separate from a mortgage contingency, which makes the purchase depend on the buyer's loan approval. A contract can contain both.

How a contingent offer reads to the seller receiving it

If you are the move-up buyer, picture the seller reading your offer. Their sale now depends on a second sale they don't control, so they will ask:

• Is the buyer's home listed, or already under contract? A home already under contract is further along than one not yet on the market.
• How long does the contingency run? Every week it runs is a week their home is off the market for other buyers.
• Can they keep showing the home? Some contracts let the seller keep marketing and accept a backup offer, giving the first buyer a set time to drop the contingency or step aside. This is often called a kick-out clause.
• What is the alternative? The seller's other choice is the next buyer. The county figures above show how quickly buyers have been reaching contract.

The terms of a contingency, from the deadline to what happens to the down payment, are negotiated by the attorneys and written into the contract. If you are on the receiving end as a seller, the same questions apply, and your own attorney can explain what each clause does.

Common questions

Should I buy a new home before selling my current one?

It depends on whether you can carry both homes at once and how quickly homes like yours are selling. Selling first gives you a known sale price and no overlap, but you may need somewhere to live in between. Buying first lets you move once, but you pay for two homes until the first one closes. Lining up both closings for the same day avoids both problems, but it needs two contracts, two sets of attorneys and two lenders to keep to one date. A lender can tell you what you qualify for while you still own your current home.

What is a home sale contingency?

A home sale contingency is a clause in a purchase contract that makes the buyer's obligation to buy depend on selling their current home. If that sale does not happen by a date the contract sets, the buyer can cancel. The exact terms, including the deadline and what happens to the down payment, are written into the contract by the attorneys.

How does a contingent offer work in New York?

In New York an accepted offer is generally not yet a binding deal. After the price is agreed, the seller's attorney prepares the contract and the buyer's attorney reviews it; the deal becomes binding when both sides sign and the buyer's down payment is delivered. A contingency, such as a mortgage contingency or a home sale contingency, is a condition written into that contract. If the condition is not met by its deadline, the contract sets out what each side can do.

Can a seller keep showing the home after accepting a contingent offer?

Only if the contract allows it. Some contracts with a home sale contingency let the seller keep marketing the home and accept a backup offer, giving the first buyer a set time to remove the contingency or step aside. This is often called a kick-out clause. Whether one is included, and its terms, is negotiated by the attorneys.

What is a simultaneous closing?

A simultaneous closing means selling your current home and buying the next one on the same day, usually with the sale closing first so its proceeds can fund the purchase. It avoids owning two homes or having none, but both contracts must be set for the same date, and a delay on either side can hold up the other.

What is a bridge loan?

A bridge loan is a short-term loan, offered by some lenders, that is usually secured by the home you are selling and used toward buying the next one before the first sale closes. Whether one is available, what it costs, and how it is repaid are set by the lender, so ask a lender directly. This page does not recommend any loan or lender.

What does it cost to carry two homes at once?

There is no single figure; it depends on your own homes. List what you would pay on both at the same time: two mortgage payments if you have them, two property tax bills, two insurance policies, utilities and upkeep, and any co-op maintenance or condo common charges. Ask your insurer how an empty home is covered, your lender what you can carry, and your accountant how the timing affects your taxes.

Can I stay in my home for a while after the sale closes?

Sometimes. A seller can ask to stay on after closing under a written agreement, often called a post-closing occupancy or rent-back agreement. The buyer does not have to agree, the buyer's lender may have its own rules, and the terms are written by the attorneys.

How long does it take to sell a house on Long Island and in Queens right now?

Recently closed sales went from listing to contract in Nassau County, a median of 27 days; Suffolk County, a median of 26 days; Queens, a median of 51 days, measured over the 12 months to October 2026. That is a median across the whole county, not a forecast for any one home, and the time from contract to closing comes on top of it.

Joseph DeVito is a New York Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker and a New York attorney. He does not act as both broker and attorney on the same transaction: here he acts as a real estate broker only, and he is not your attorney. Real estate services provided through Keller Williams Realty Greater Nassau are not legal representation. Everything on this site is general information for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, it creates no attorney-client relationship, and it should not be relied on as legal advice — for advice about your own situation, consult your own attorney.

This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice for your move. Contract terms, financing and timing depend on your own facts, so confirm them with the attorney handling your sale and purchase, your lender and your accountant.

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