The Guardian, a liberal and international-looking UK national newspaper, last week surveyed its readers online to judge their views on gazundering. This is the phenomenon in a falling residential market when a buyer dramatically lowers his or her offer on a home after a price has been agreed, but just before contracts are signed. So is gazundering acceptable? Brutal market economics say yes but the UK's property establishment says no – and most estate agents and developers seem to put their money where their mouth is, and do everything they can to limit the use of the practice. "It's purely a question of dropping the price and trying it on," says James Greenwood, managing director of Stacks Property Search & Acquisition. "As buying agents, we do gazunder if instructed. But our advice would be 'Don't'," explains Greenwood. But liberal Guardian readers weren't so sure. Some 43.7 per cent opposed it on principle, yet a not-far-behind 38.1 per cent said it was acceptable. Staggeringly, 18.2% said it depended on whether they were selling or buying. In other words, if it helped them get more money they were in favour – if it worked against them, they were opposed. Perhaps ruthless unprincipled estate agents aren't so out-of-line after all? Graham Norwood is a property correspondent for The Observer