Taylor Scott International News
Brighton leads the way as the gazumping capital of Britain with 34.9% of residents losing out in this way, new research has found. As if getting a foot on the property ladder wasn’t already hard enough for some, the danger of being gazumped is now becoming a reality again for property buyers, according to a study by online estate agent eMoov. It found that on average across the UK some 22% have experienced the turmoil of being gazumped which can leave prospective buyers out of pocket and back to square one in the buying process. In the London market gazumping is over the national average with 31.9% in the capital have come within touching distance of a purchase before it was snatched from their grasp. The tactic of sealed bidding, particularly rife in the capital, provides the ideal environment for potential gazumpers. Outside of the South East the average drops from 22% to 18%. Birmingham figures show 27% of property buyers in the area have been gazumped with Sheffield at 22%, Bristol at 21%, Leeds and Nottingham at 20%. Although gazumping is not a new concept it has become a more regular occurrence across the country. The research also found that the higher the price of the property, the more likely you are to be gazumped. Of those that had been previously gazumped 27% were over properties of £500,000 or above. This dropped to 25% for properties valued between £200,000 and £500,000 and a further 6% for properties under £200,000. ‘It is one of those things in the current structure of property purchasing unfortunately. Buyers that have displayed honest interest in a property only to be let down by owners with pound signs in their eyes, often encouraged by traditional estate agent looking to increase his fee percentage,’ said Russell Quirk, the firm’s chief executive officer. Liverpool was the least affected area of England for gazumping at just 13%, however this doesn’t necessarily put an end to unethical behaviour during the buying process. ‘If these markets cool off too much, we could see gazundering coming back in. This is a tactic in areas with little demand where the buyer calls up just before the exchange of contracts and demands to pay less,’ explained Quirk. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
