Gazumping, and the interest you could not see
In England and Wales an agreed sale binds nobody. The queue puts the other interest in view before anyone agrees to anything.
open for offer lets you test the market before you list. Your home sits in the pre-market, buyers register interest, and nothing is advertised.
Gazumping is when a seller accepts a higher offer after already agreeing to sell to somebody else. The buyer who thought they had a house finds out they did not.
It is possible because in England and Wales an agreed sale is not binding until contracts are exchanged. Until that day either side can walk away, and a better offer is a reason to.
Nearly 1 in 4 — 23.4% of listings had a sale fall through at least once in 2026, per TwentyCi. Gazumping is one cause among several.
The government's June roadmap wants offers to be able to become binding earlier, once the information is routine. That is later. This is about now.
Where the surprise comes from
Look at what each side knew on the day the sale was agreed. The seller knew of one offer, perhaps two, relayed by an agent. The buyer knew their own.
Neither could see the whole of the interest in the house.
The higher offer that arrives a fortnight later is often not new demand. It is demand that was there and could not be seen.
So gazumping is a surprise on both sides. The seller is surprised there was more. The buyer is surprised there was anyone else at all.
Both were deciding with a partial view of the same house, on the same day.
What the queue is
On open for offer, interest in a home goes into the queue on its property page: how much interest there is, and nothing that identifies anyone.
No amounts are shown, and no names. What is shown is that the interest exists, how much of it there is, and when each registration was made.
A seller sees real interest before deciding anything. A buyer sees the same queue.
Nothing is advertised. The owner has set no asking price. Buyers register interest each with the figure they would pay, and the owner decides what happens next.
What that changes
A seller who has seen the queue is not deciding in the dark. They know how much interest exists before they say yes to anything.
A buyer who has seen the queue knows they are not alone before they pay for a survey and a solicitor.
The interest is in view from the start, not arriving by telephone in week three.
None of that makes an agreed sale binding. Only exchange does. What it changes is what each side knew on the day they agreed. A surprise needs something nobody knew.
What it does not do
It does not stop a seller changing their mind, and it should not. The seller is always in control. Nothing obliges you to answer any of it.
It does not tell anyone who the other buyers are, or what they would pay. That is the point. Interest is public; identity is not.
And we do not claim it makes a sale complete. We hold no evidence for that, and we will not publish a number we cannot stand behind.
For the owner who has not listed yet
The temptation to gazump comes from learning too late how much interest there was. Testing the market puts that learning first.
You see the queue before you agree to anything: every registered interest in one place, and you decide.
If the interest is there, you know before you commit to anything. If it is not, nothing public has happened.
Test the market on your home · Get your market estimate · Gazumping, and what actually stops it
Common questions
What is gazumping?
A seller accepts a higher offer from a new buyer after already agreeing to sell to somebody else. It is possible because in England and Wales an agreed sale is not binding until contracts are exchanged.
What does the queue on a property page show?
How much interest has been registered on the home and when each registration was made. No amounts and no names are shown. A seller and a buyer see the same queue.
Does the queue stop gazumping?
No. Only exchange of contracts makes a sale binding, and we hold no evidence that the queue changes how often sales fall through. What it changes is what each side knows on the day they agree.
Can I see what other buyers would pay?
No. Buyers register interest each with the figure they would pay, but amounts are not shown on the page and nobody is identified.