A Third of Homeowners say they have been Gazundered...

Why do we buy and sell property in a way that seems only to encourage gazumping, gazundering and last-minute panics that leave people stranded and out of pocket? The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government puts the cost of sales falling through at £270m a year. 

However, a week before exchanging — and after a gruelling six-month selling process — their buyer decided to drop their offer £30,000. There was no reason for it: no survey showing damp issues, or anything else warranting last-minute bargaining. This was pure gazundering. It’s like the Wild West out there.

A survey of 2,000 people by campaign group the HomeOwners Alliance, BLP Insurance and Resi.co.uk architects found that some 45 per cent of people were concerned about this relatively recent phenomenon - up from 40 per cent last year.

According to property experts this latest wave of gazundering, also called ‘price chipping’, is gathering pace as the housing market slowly begins to respond to the UK’s wider economic problems.

Despite these cooling market conditions, there remains an air of stubbornness amongst the nation’s sellers who are yet to fully accept this change in market temperature and, as a result, almost a third are being gazundered with a lower offer having originally agreed a price with their buyer.