The term “gazundering” has seen a sharp increase in Google search activity, rising by 97 per cent since the start of the year.
Research from GetAgent.co.uk revealed that, in the period from January to September 2023, gazundering was the search term with the biggest boost in popularity.
The comparison site said this increase in searches came as cooling market conditions have put the power “very much in the hands of the nation’s homebuyers”.
Gazundering refers to a buyer reducing their offer at a late stage of negotiations to try and pressure the seller into accepting less money, a practice that becomes “increasingly common” when buyer demand is low.
This, therefore, makes it the opposite of gazumping which becomes more frequent when the market favours the seller.
GetAgent.co.uk co-founder and CEO, Colby Short, said: “It’s not so long ago that we saw an unprecedented rise in gazumping in the UK market, with desperate buyers swooping in to outbid each other at the last minute.
“But now that market conditions have changed in the face of economic uncertainty, the power dynamic seems to have shifted in favour of the buyer.
“Hence the rising interest in 'gazundering' as buyers have made a last ditch offer for a lower price than originally agreed.”
Other search terms
Additionally, the research found other search terms have seen an increase in popularity, such as “best estate agent” which experienced a 17.4 per cent increase since the start of the year.
"Property chain” searches also saw an increase, rising by 8.5 per cent as cooling market conditions meant chains are lengthening, causing anxiety for both hopeful buyers and sellers alike.
“Conveyancing” searches increased by 1.9 per cent as buyers and sellers alike seek to better understand the most time consuming part of the process.
“It’s also fascinating to see such a large uptick in search interest for the 'best' estate agent,” Short stated.
“When conditions get tougher, we see sellers and buyers turn their attention to finding the best possible professional to help them navigate the journey and best protect their interests.
“It’s times like this when great agents are needed the most and, as such, they really start making a name for themselves.”
Not all search terms were found to have increased in popularity however as “house valuation” was found to have fallen by 31.8 per cent since January.
Other terms to see a drop in popularity include “capital gains tax”, which fell by 29.4 per cent, “stamp duty”, which decreased by 16.9 per cent, and “house price” was saw a 13.5 per cent drop.
The website analysed Google search terms around the subject of homeselling to see which has seen the biggest increase in search interest since the start of 2023 based on the “interest score” attributed by Google.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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