Gazumping is the term used to describe when a last minute bidder comes in and offers more than the original price agreed by an existing buyer and the seller.

Charles Peerless, manager of London’s West End and City branches of agents Winkworths, said:

“We’ve had gazumping on two lower priced properties – around the £360,000 mark – in January.

“We had abuse from the buyers because they think the market is dreadful and they couldn’t believe they had been outbid”.

Ed Mead, director of the London estate agents Douglas & Gordon, said his company’s Wandsworth branch had seen one buyer attempt to gazump a rival by £50,000.

The bidding battle eventually pushed the price on the property up from £800,000 to almost £900,000. However, “the vendor went for the lower bidder in the end as he was offering cash”, Mr Mead added.

Other agents said that while they had not seen gazumping, some health was returning to the market.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, which this reported a 1.9% increase in average property prices in January, said: “There are some very early signs that market activity may be stabilising, albeit at quite a low level.”