From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishchange handschange handsOWNif property changes hands, it starts to belong to someone else The house has changed hands three times in the last two years. → change
Examples from the Corpus
change hands• The theater recently changed hands.• He had also been talking for ages to Broadman, and Ymor had seen a piece of paper change hands.• In 1989, after several years of lagging profits, Lechmere changed hands as a result of a management-led leveraged buyout.• No money changed hands, he said.• The price at which tenancies change hands is currently within the range £115,000 to £155,000.• More than 3 million shares changed hands, more than 14 times the six-month average of 204,524 shares.• The property went into foreclosure and changed hands several times.• Mr Adams's defeat in the only Northern Ireland seat to change hands was widely welcomed by nationalist and Unionist politicians.• But even this little collection of cottage garden produce won't change hands without some stern bargaining. 