Sellers still suffering from gazundering

Sellers are still being lowballed by their buyer having previously accepted a higher offer, research suggests.

A survey of more than 1,000 UK home sellers who have sold in the past six months, found that one in five sellers have been gazundered when selling their home.

Gazundering is when a buyer submits a lower offer for the property they wish to purchase before the sale completes, having already had a higher offer previously accepted.

This is frustrating for vendors who may lose out on an onward purchase but the number has at least dropped.

The same survey from House Buyer Bureau in February found that at the start of the year as many as 31% of home sellers had been gazundered.

Of those to have fallen foul of a lower offer in the past six months, 47% stated they were gazundered within two weeks before their completion date

Almost three quarters of those who have recently been gazundered also stated they had no other choice but to accept the lower offer submitted by their buyers.

The main reason given for doing so was that they didn’t want to jeopardise their onward purchase (32%), while many sellers also didn’t want to waste time finding another buyer (24%), which can be more tricky in the current environment.

The main reason given by gazundering buyers for submitting a lower offer was the fact that issues were found with the property during the survey stage of the transaction (36%), although as many as 22% also admitted to simply chancing their arm.

Of those sellers who didn’t accept the lower offer submitted, 34% stated that the sale then went on to collapse, up from 21% in February of this year.

Chris Hodgkinson, managing director of House Buyer Bureau, said: “It would appear that while the market is still underperforming, an air of growing stability has at least led to a reduced level of gazundering on the part of buyers.

“That said, one in five sellers are still being subject to a lower offer, many within two weeks of their intended completion data.

“With the ability to find a buyer in a proceedable position proving difficult at present, many sellers are left with little choice but to take the hit on asking price if they want to move and, for those who don’t, there’s a high chance their sale will collapse.”