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.