A Third Of Home Owners Would Accept A Gazumper's Offer

A MORI poll for ITV's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme reveals how many sellers are ready to make a quick killing from the current property boom.

Over a third (34 per cent) of home owners said they would renege on a promise to sell, if someone bid an extra 1635,000 before contracts were exchanged. Over a half (58 per cent) would say yes if they were offered 16310,000 more, and two in three (68 per cent) admitted they would switch if the offer was 16320,000.

Even wealthy owners would leave prospective buyers high and dry. Over a quarter (26%) of people living in houses worth 163200,000 or more would sell to a gazumper offering 1635,000 extra. Over half (55%) say they would do a deal for 16320,000 more than the original offer.

This evening's programme shows gazumping has spelt misery for thousands of people in the house buying market.

Shelley Anne-Claircourt, a PR executive from Kensington, was gazumped by somebody offering and extra 1635,000, just days before she was about to move into a south Kensington mews cottage. It cost her 1635000 in rent and legal fees.

She told the programme: "I got the call from an estate agent, completely independently saying 'I'm so sorry to hear you've been gazumped, and are you interested in seeing something else?' I was completely taken aback, I had no idea that there was anyone else involved.

"It was sort of heart wrenching, because you can't believe it's happening when you had everything planned and you're moving in eight days, and suddenly your world's shattering, it's all caving in."

Technical details

MORI Financial Services interviewed 1,228 homeowners aged 18+ in England & Wales between 24^th and 29^th June 1999.