What is gazundering?
Gazundering is when a buyer lowers their agreed offer shortly before exchange of contracts, forcing the seller to either accept the reduction or withdraw from the sale.
Gazundering occurs when a buyer submits a lower offer after agreeing a price with the seller, typically in the days or weeks just before exchange of contracts. The timing makes the tactic effective because the seller has already invested time, money on surveys and searches, and emotional energy in the transaction. Restarting the sale at that point means losing weeks and facing the cost of fresh reports and viewings.
The buyer exploits this leverage by arguing that survey results, market conditions, or further due diligence has revealed issues that justify the reduction. The seller then faces an uncomfortable choice: accept less than agreed, renegotiate further, or withdraw and start again with a new buyer.
Gazundering matters to sellers and residential sales agents because it introduces uncertainty into the final stages of a transaction. Chains can collapse if a seller refuses the lower offer and the buyer walks away. It also strains goodwill between parties and can delay completion. While gazundering sits in a legal grey area (offers are technically not binding until exchange), it has become a recognized risk in the British property market, particularly in slower markets where buyers sense less urgency.