Gazundering 'will rise as house prices slip'
Published On 6 May 2008
While the majority of mortgage holders believe the practice of putting an offer in on an accepted property and then lowering it at the last minute is not acceptable, most would still do it if pushed, new research has revealed.Data from Fool.co.uk showed that 58 per cent of people said they thought the practice - known as gazundering - is "unethical".
However, 94 per cent said they would exploit the current situation in the housing market and drive down prices if they could.
What's more, the figures indicated that 16 per cent of mortgage holders have already experienced gazundering.
Donna Werbner, a property expert at Fool.co.uk, commented: "Falling house prices create a terrible moral dilemma for buyers. If they don't gazunder, they could potentially find their property has fallen in value before they have even bought it.
"People may think the practice of gazundering is unethical or even immoral. But homeowners have benefited from astronomical increases in house prices over the past decade, and are trying to sell at the peak of the market.
"If the seller's property is no longer worth the amount that has been offered, then maybe holding the other party to the original offer is not all that honourable or admirable either."
