From January to September 2023, Google searches for the term ‘gazundering’ – buyers reducing offers at a late stage of negotiations – rose by 97%, according to research by GetAgent.co.uk.
The term ‘best estate agent’ rose 17.4% in popularity over the same time period, while ‘property chain’ searches rose 8.5%.
Searches for ‘conveyancing’ rose 1.9%, which GetAgent suggested showed people seeking to understand the most time consuming part of the process during a period of extended selling times.
Google searches for ‘house valuation’ dropped by 31.8% sine January, as fewer sellers brought properties to the market.
Other terms to see a drop included ‘Capital Gains Tax’ (-29.4), ‘Stamp Duty’ (-16.9) and ‘house price (-13.5).
Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of GetAgent.co.uk, 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.
“It’s also fascinating to see such a large uptick in search interest for the ‘best’ estate agent.
“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.”
