Gazanging is the new gazumping: Latest peril in buying a new home (and 54,000 have fallen victim this year)

Published 19th Sep 2011

Over the years, the ups and downs of the property market have spawned a whole host of perplexing terms.

Now experts have coined another to add to the lexicon – gazanging.

The term is used to describe when a buyer is ‘left hanging’ as a seller pulls the plug on a deal at the last minute, often due to market uncertainty or a lack of a suitable home to move to.

An estimated 54,000 buyers were gazanged in the first six months of this year – up 20 per cent compared with the second half of 2010, according to research by online conveyancing firm In-Deed.

This is borne out by market data, which shows that the number of transactions has declined by a quarter in the past 12 months.

More than a quarter of sellers changed their mind because they could not find a suitable property themselves, according to In-Deed’s survey of 1,001 adults.

Gazanging is the latest word to follow a housing market terminology trend that started with gazumping – used to describe when a seller accepts one offer, only then to accept a better price from a third party.

Later, the term gazundering came into use to describe when the buyer threatens the collapse of a chain by suddenly offering a lower price when everybody is poised to complete.

Harry Hill, founder of In-Deed, said: ‘There has always been a minority of sellers who pull out of a deal at the last minute, but the uncertain market and poor consumer confidence have vastly exacerbated this problem, with an increasing number of sellers getting cold feet.’

TV property expert Phil Spencer said: ‘In such a volatile market, it’s not that surprising that many more sellers are changing their minds at the last minute, especially when there are so few suitable homes available.’

He advised buyers to seek out ‘the most efficient legal services’ to avoid being gazanged.

Source: ' ThisIsMoney '

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