According to Spring Move, as many as 150,000 failed house sales a year could involve gazumping.
The study found that the southeast has the lowest percentage of house sale failures in relation to actual sales.
According to the company, more than 2.2 million people in England and Wales saw house sales fall through in the last five years.
Our view
As with any market, where there is demand or competition you will always find people 'playing games'.