Glossary · 2026

What is a Soft Hold on a Property Unit?

TL;DR

A soft hold is a temporary, non-binding reservation that takes a unit out of public availability for a short period — typically hours to a few days — while the buyer arranges their deposit.
It's a courtesy mechanism, not a contractual one. The unit can still be released if the buyer doesn't act in time.
Compare to a 'hard hold', which involves an actual deposit and contractually removes the unit from sale.

Booking Pending

TW-A-1201

2BR · 88 m² · Pool view

Deadline47:12

Quick facts

Duration: Typically 24–72 hours
Money involved: None — purely operational reservation
Auto-release: Unit returns to 'available' if buyer doesn't deposit
Conflicts handled: First-come-first-served at the platform level

When does a soft hold get created?

Most often when an agent or channel partner has a serious buyer who needs a few hours to wire the deposit. The agent puts the unit on a soft hold so a competing channel partner doesn't sell it in the meantime. If the deposit doesn't arrive within the hold window, the unit auto-releases.

How does soft hold differ from hard hold?

A soft hold is operational — no money, no contract, easy release. A hard hold is contractual — deposit paid, unit legally reserved, harder to release. Soft holds bridge the gap between 'shown to buyer' and 'deposit paid'.

What problems does a soft hold solve?

Off-plan sales involve multiple agents and channel partners working the same inventory. Without soft holds, two agents might pitch the same unit to two different buyers within hours of each other — and the second one to receive a deposit gets the unit while the first buyer gets a refund and a churned agent. Soft holds let an agent commit to a buyer for the deposit window without a contractual reservation.

Soft hold vs hard hold

Property	Soft hold \| Hard hold
Money required	None \| Deposit paid
Duration	24–72 hours \| Until cancellation or completion
Contract status	None \| Booking/SPA signed
Released by	Auto-timer \| Buyer cancellation or developer action
Used for	Securing buyer attention pre-deposit \| Locking unit out of sale

How DomusHub handles soft holds

DomusHub's booking flow supports both soft holds (timer-based, no payment) and hard holds (deposit paid, unit moves to Reserved). Soft holds are visible to all agents on the same platform — a colleague can't accidentally re-book the unit during the hold window. If the timer expires without a deposit, the unit auto-returns to Available status.

Soft hold creates a Pending status with a configurable timer (e.g. 48h).
All agents see the hold and can't double-book.
If deposit lands within the timer, status transitions to Reserved.
If timer expires, unit auto-releases to Available.

Frequently asked questions

Is a soft hold legally binding?

No. It's an operational reservation between the developer and the agent, not a contract with the buyer. The buyer hasn't committed and the unit can release if conditions aren't met.

Can a buyer be on multiple soft holds at once?

Sometimes — depends on the developer's policy. Some allow a buyer to compare two units side-by-side under simultaneous soft hold; most require choosing one before the timer extends.

How long should a soft hold last?

Common range is 24–72 hours. Shorter windows force quick decisions; longer ones risk losing competing buyer interest. Most platforms let the developer configure per-project policy.