Gazumping has considerably reduced over the past ten months, according to new research from online estate agent eMoov.co.uk.
The number of buyers being gazumped has fallen by 40 per cent since October last year, the survey of 1,000 homeowners found.
eMoov’s previous survey showed nearly a quarter (22 per cent) of all homeowners had been gazumped during their property purchase, however this has now reduced to 13 per cent.
It’s good news for buyers on the south coast as Brighton loses its crown as gazumping capital of the UK with a -68 per cent drop, down to just 11 per cent of buyers having been gazumped in 2015.
Gazumping in the capital is also down (-46 per cent) with just 17 per cent of buyers in London having experienced gazumping first hand. 2015 has seen an ever inflating London market cool due to a mixture of election uncertainty , high prices and slowing demand. With demand having levelled out slightly, there is less cause for those looking to buy, to pip the competition to the post by gazumping them. But with London demand starting to pick back up, it mightn’t be long before this trend starts to reverse.
Sheffield is crowned as the new gazumping capital of the UK. Nearly a third (29 per cent) of buyers in the city have been gazumped when looking to purchase a property, an increase of a 25 per cent over the last ten months.
Other cities where gazumping is still more prevalent despite a drop are Birmingham (17 per cent), Leeds (16 per cent), Manchester (15 per cent), Nottingham and Bristol (12 per cent) and Brighton (11 per cent). At just 2 per cent, Southampton had the lowest rate of gazumping in the UK.
The 25-34 age group were most susceptible with a fifth having been gazumped. At 17 per cent those buying over the £500,000 threshold had been gazumped more than any other price bracket.
Russell Quirk, founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, commented:
“It will come as a surprise to many that gazumping has dropped across the nation, but a welcome surprise never the less. We’ve kept a close eye on the London market especially and given the lower levels of demand experienced since the start of the year, the drop in gazumping reflects that the insanity of the London market has simmered a little.
“In previous years property sellers, especially in London, knew that they had a que of buyers stood outside their door. Even open days became fiercely competitive, so even if you did lose out, you had a direct route to the seller in order to gazump the accepted buyer. This all helped towards the rise of gazumping.
“It’s interesting however that we have seen an increase in Sheffield and Newcastle. It re-enforces our research on property demand in each city, with plenty of buyers looking to get on the ladder, a lack of inventory results in cut throat tactics such as gazumping. This is due to the shortage of inventory to accommodate the rising demand for property in these area.
“Unfortunately this is just one of the downfalls of such a buoyant property market. Yes it’s good to some extent for buyers as they are able to achieve a good price, but for those struggling to buy it isn’t much fun at all. Our research has seen a -4% drop in demand for property in Brighton, so with the market their cooling it explains the city being dethroned as gazumping capital of the UK.“
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