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Meet the US estate agents who want to end gazumping in the UK property market

The UK office of Keller Williams, the billion-dollar US estate agents, has unveiled aggressive expansion plans for its UK business along with ambitious claims that it wants to eradicate gazumping in the property market.

From its London and Leeds offices, the property firm said it plans to roll out a further 8 or 9 UK offices this year in a significant expansion of its UK network and expand its team of brokers to 500 by the end of the year.

In a statement announcing its expansion plans this morning, Keller Williams has claimed it intends to ‘eradicate fall throughs’ and ‘eliminate gazumping’ in the property market by shrinking transaction times to days rather than months.

Long the bane of English house buyers, property law in the UK dictates that a verbal agreement from a seller is not legally binding, meaning a buyer can be pushed out of a deal, or gazumped, if the seller receives a higher offer before formalities have been completed.

Through its KW One service, the US agents claim that sellers and buyers can reach an offer to exchange within seconds, as opposed to 4 to 6 weeks, and fully complete within two days for cash buyers or two weeks for mortgage buyers.

All admin and marketing for the property is handled by one of Keller Williams brokers, who earn a 70% commission, meaning all legals and time-consuming admin is carried out by the same person, which the estate agents said dramatically cuts down transaction times.

Matt Fetick, Managing Director of Keller Williams in London, commented: “Our model provides the certainty which both buyers and sellers are desperate for in this current market.

“During the property recession in America, Keller Williams grew exponentially and this market is no different. With transactions down by almost a quarter, completing a sale is vital to the health of the wider housing industry.

“The fall through rate at my offices in the US is less than 3% and I would expect to see the same rates in London. We have the proven track record to help make this happen in the UK.”

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