Because most residential property sells for well above R250,000, and most sales come through an agent the buyer approached rather than unsolicited marketing, the great majority of property purchases carry no legal cooling-off period at all. Signing an Offer to Purchase is, in almost every real case, a binding commitment from the moment both parties sign.
Source: Alienation of Land Act 68 of 1981, section 29A
Frequently Asked Questions
If I view a show house and then decide to buy, do I get a cooling-off period?
No — responding to a show house or general advertising is not "direct marketing" under the CPA, so no five-day cooling-off right applies.
What if an agent I already have a relationship with sends me a listing?
If you're already the agent's client, this typically falls outside the CPA's direct marketing definition too, meaning no cooling-off right applies.
Can a seller build a voluntary cooling-off clause into the Offer to Purchase anyway?
Yes — nothing stops a seller and buyer agreeing to their own conditional clauses, such as subject to bond approval.