Settlement Date

About Settlement Date:

Real estate. The date when property is purchased (or sold) and the deed is transferred. Securities. The date by which an executed order must be settled, either by a buyer paying for the securities with cash or by a seller delivering the securities and receiving the proceeds of sale for them. In a regular-way delivery of stocks and bonds, the settlement date is 5 business days after the trade was executed. For taxpayers, the trade date, rather than the settlement date, affects the holding period.