Gazumping & Gazundering Are Back: How to Protect Yourself in a Cutthroat Market

As the UK housing market experiences renewed turbulence, two old foes have re-emerged with a vengeance: gazumping and gazundering. Recent Google Trends data shows a dramatic 1,500% increase in searches for these terms, highlighting growing buyer and seller anxiety. But what exactly do they mean — and how can you avoid falling victim?

🔍 What Is Gazumping?

Gazumping occurs when a seller accepts an offer on a property but later accepts a higher one from another buyer before contracts are exchanged.
📌 Example: You offer £350,000, it’s accepted — but two weeks later, the seller takes a £365,000 offer instead.

💸 What Is Gazundering?

Gazundering is the reverse: a buyer lowers their offer just before the exchange of contracts, often pressuring sellers to accept a lower price to avoid a collapsed chain.
📌 Example: Your buyer drops their offer by £10,000 the day before exchange, claiming “new survey concerns.”

⚠️ Why These Tactics Are Trending

Low housing stock: More buyers competing for fewer homes.
Market uncertainty: Some sellers panic, others hold out for better offers.
Long chains: Delays increase the chances of buyers or sellers changing terms.
Lack of legal binding: In England and Wales, offers aren’t legally binding until exchange.

🛡️ How to Protect Yourself

For Buyers:

Ask for the property to be taken off the market immediately after your offer is accepted.
Get everything in writing, including timelines and agreed terms.
Move fast with surveys and conveyancing to minimise the window for gazumping.
Consider a lock-in agreement to legally bind the seller.

For Sellers:

Pre-qualify your buyer – ensure they have a mortgage in principle and a buyer behind them (if part of a chain).
Communicate regularly to maintain trust.
Set a deadline for exchange, reducing the window for gazundering.
Refuse late negotiations unless there's valid justification (e.g. structural issues).

⚖️ Should the Law Change?

Scotland already avoids much of this with binding agreements earlier in the process. Campaigns in England and Wales are pushing for similar legal reforms, including: