Gazundering: How Buyers Cut Offers at the Last Minute
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- Sarah had the agreed sale price on her three-bedroom terrace cut by £15,000 the day before exchange, leaving her family facing either reduced proceeds or sunk legal and removal fees if they walked away.
- After listing the house again the same day, Sarah's buyers returned the next day agreeing to proceed at the original price — but the family was left shaken by the experience.
- Beth Rudolf of the Conveyancing Association calls gazundering a "small but growing problem," attributing the rise to a shift toward a buyers' market with more homes listed than buyers searching.
- In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, one in three house sales falls through before exchange, costing sellers £400m and the wider economy £1.5bn annually, according to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.
- The Conveyancing Association is urging the government to bring in planned property market reforms "without delay" rather than waiting until the end of the current parliament in 2029.
- The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government says it will introduce legally binding agreements with fines for buyers who walk away at the last minute without a valid reason.
Why it matters: Sellers caught in property chains carry almost all the risk: with one in three sales collapsing before exchange and no legal penalty for last-minute price drops, a single gazundering buyer can wipe out legal fees, removal costs and the onward purchase. The Conveyancing Association wants reforms pulled forward from 2029, but until binding agreements land, sellers remain exposed.
