Standard time to sign a new construction contract in NYC

[showtime]

I've been told by a very knowledgeable lawyer that the standard length of time he has to get his buyer to sign a purchase contract on a new construction unit is 5 business days or 7 calendar days. This is after he's received both the sale contract and the offering plan. He did caveat by saying that assuming this is a popular property that is selling like hotcakes, if you don't sign within that time frame they will just move on to the next buyer.

Is this true? I'm not so sure that there are standard time frames to have a contract signed by the buyer. I've seen contract negotiations literally drag on for weeks in normal re-sale transactions in NYC. I really think it all depends on how popular and well priced the listing is.

[aslan]

I've never heard of standard timeline or deadline for a buyer to sign a contract on new construction or a re-sale. Sure, if it's a very hot property with multiple offers the seller may only give the buyer 1 week to sign a contract. However, if that's the case the seller could just as easily send out multiple contracts to multiple accepted offers, and decide upon the people who sign the fastest. It's really a Wild West and I think it's a bit disingenuous to claim that there is a standard time frame to sign a contract.

That makes it seem like there is some sort of protocol or standardized courtesy time when there is not!