Would revealing rival offers curb gazumping? – London Wallet

With more than a third of buyers being gazumped and nearly three in ten sales falling through before completion – at an estimated cost of £1.5bn a year – the UK property market remains strikingly opaque. Buyers are expected to bid without knowing what they’re competing against, relying on limited information and trust in the process.

Open for offer, which presents itself as ‘the UK’s first transparent property marketplace’, aims to change that by publishing a real-time, anonymised order book for each listing. Every offer is visible: the amount, when it was made, and key details such as chain status and funding type – but without identifying the buyer.

“Every other market in the world — stocks, commodities, even used cars — shows you what buyers are willing to pay,” said Steven Myers, CEO of open for offer. “Property is the biggest financial decision most people will ever make, and they’re making it blind. We’re fixing that.”

Myers points to a homebuying system in England and Wales that he believes remains opaque by international standards, with around 37% of buyers gazumped in the past decade and nearly 29% of agreed sales falling through before contracts are exchanged.

He said confidence in pricing is limited, citing figures suggesting 63% of sellers do not trust the valuation set by their agent. Failed transactions also carry a cost, with buyers losing an average of £2,899 on deals that do not complete, he argued.

Open for offer hopes to win businesses from homebuyers – and agents – by publishing offers as anonymised entries on a property listing once they are submitted. Each entry includes the amount, timing, the buyer’s chain position and funding status, along with a summary indicator of the offer. Competing bids are visible, but buyers are not identified.

“Scotland outlawed gazumping decades ago and has a fall-through rate under 1%,” said Myers. “We’re not waiting for legislation. We’re building the infrastructure that makes gazumping economically irrational.”

“A first-time buyer competing against a cash investor deserves to know that [transparency is crucial],” he continued. “On open for offer, they can see every competing offer and make an informed decision about whether to increase their bid, hold firm, or walk away.”