GAZUMPING, a word that first entered the language more than 20 years ago, is suddenly being heard once again in the London property market.
Gazumping emerged during the 1970s property boom. It described the practice made possible by the ''subject to contract'' nature of British property law, of accepting a higher offer on a house or flat after agreeing to a sale at a lesser price.
Twenty years ago, gazumping became a central, almost unavoidable, feature of property sales. The term became associated with sharp practice and an elaborate game of bluff and counter bluff.
Vendors would routinely inform buyers, often at the very moment of exchange of contracts, a higher offer had been received which would be accepted unless the purchaser could match it. As there were no means of checking the truth of the claim, buyers wereleft in the unhappy position of either paying up, or risk losing the property.
The property crash of the mid-1970s put an abrupt end to this type of brinkmanship and its unexpected re-emergence now is a further sign the surge in London property prices is gathering pace and vigour.
This time, however, buyers are fighting back. Rather than meekly accepting their fate as helpless pawns in the sellers' game, purchasers have begun to demand ''lock out'' contracts as part of the agreement to sell.