It takes about 20 days in Kentucky right now if there are no appraisal issues.

Joel Lobb (NMLS#57916)
Senior Loan Officer
502-905-3708 cell
502-813-2795 fax
jlobb@keyfinllc.com

Key Financial Mortgage Co. (NMLS #1800)*
107 South Hurstbourne Parkway*
Louisville, KY 40222*
http://mylouisvillekentuckymortgage.com

Again another old question asked. Things have changed a lot in the last year, which is something that has lengthened the mortgage process. New disclosure guidelines have been put in place by government regulators that cause a waiting period between things like when an appraisal can be ordered based on when the Truth-in-lending statement is issued, to the newest change as of January 1st requiring a different form of good faith estimate. There are times when you can get a loan cleared to close in as short as 2 weeks, but it is more likely that the process will take a total of 45-60 days, depending on the mortgage process time frame as well as the time needed for title searches. Certificate of Occupancy searches are done in NY, but not elsewhere in the country, and these can take time.
New York is a different market in many ways, and how long it takes to get from contract to closing is only 1 of them.

If you have good credit and an organized lawyer over one month.
The average time is about three months.

Terence - your statement of "the more a buyer puts down, the shorter the time period to closing will be" (except all cash deals) is wrong! How much buyers puts down has nothing to do with the length of the mortgage process, hence the closing time frame.

Martin - the average length from signing contract to closing is between 30-90 day based on many circumstances, like (already mentioned below) title search, certificate of occupancy, survey etc.
When purchasing a co-op, it might even take more than 90 days due to the fact of waiting for the interview with the board of directors and more paperwork.

Having read some of the previous answers , you must be confused -but they all contain some kernel of truth . Basically , the more a buyer puts down , the shorter the time period to closing will be.
CASH BUYERS can get better deals since they do not have to worry about putting a mortgage package together for a bank, and they can often close in 30 days or less . Mortgage seekers have to SHOW the bank that they can afford the loan and the LESSER amount they put down , the MORE they have to show the bank , and the longer it takes , anywhere these days up to 5 or 6 months is not uncommon .So putting it all together , the average is about 3 t0 4 months after a seller goes to contract until closing.

Martin, Gail offered valuable insight. In NY, the contracts done by lawyers indicate an "on or about" date, rather than a specific closing date. The problem with this is that it gives all parties an additional 30 days to take their time.
See if you can get a date that isn't so open ended- most states don't fool around with "on or about."
Good luck.

This is an answer that can only come from a Realtor practicing in NY. NY transactions require 3 attorneys, the buyer's, the seller's and the bank's. Unlike Florida, the buyer is typically given 45 days just to get a commitment.

The buyer's attorney typically does not call for title until after receiving the commitment. If the title has clouds or other issues or a new survey needs to be taken or there are certificate of occupany issues on improvements to the house, literally months can be added to that time. There are a lot of factors involved, but certainly 60-90 days would not be considered unusual.

30 days is reasonable, but things change quickly. If you agreed to a certain time and it passes, there is typically an automatic extension.
After that, it is by mutual agreement to extend it.