The commercial property sector has seen a rise in gazundering – where buyers slash the price they are willing to pay just before contracts are exchanged.
According to research from NB Real Estate, 71% of agents and landlords have recently experienced the phenomenon.
The agent conducted a survey among 14 major landlords, agents and institutional investors.
NB Real Estate said many buyers had been seeking to take advantage of the negative perceptions of the state of commercial property, lowering offers on properties before the final contracts exchange.
NB Real Estate director Peter Trinder said: “Many buyers, having been conditioned by the negative messages about the commercial property market, assume that agents or landlords are desperate to sell and so they would go along with a last-minute drop in price.
“Sellers need to realise that there is still a good level of activity in the market and there is demand for the right properties, so gazundering is not something they have to put up with.”
