Price Cut vs. Rate Buydown
Move the payment, not the price
A stale listing has two levers: drop the price, or offer the same money as a seller-paid rate buydown. They cost you about the same — but a price cut barely moves the buyer’s payment, while a buydown drops it sharply in the early years and keeps your sale price on the comps. Put real numbers in and see the gap.
The listing
Everything here is adjustable — nothing is a commitment. Change it and watch both paths update.
The current asking price on the listing.
Sets the loan amount. The comparison keeps the buyer’s down-payment dollars fixed, so a price cut reduces the loan by the full credit — the most it ever can.
The locked rate the buydown starts below and returns to. Adjust to a rate Justin quotes.
The dollars on the table — spent either as a price reduction or a buydown credit. Concessions are capped by loan type and down payment; Justin can confirm the limit.
A 2-1 starts 2% below the note rate in year 1 and 1% below in year 2, then returns to the note rate. A 3-2-1 starts 3% below; a 1-0 is one year 1% below.
Year-one relief for the buyer
$0/mo
Estimates only · no credit pull · nothing is sent anywhere
Rough estimate only, for education. Both paths assume the buyer brings the same down-payment dollars, so a price reduction lowers the loan by the full concession — the largest payment effect a price cut can have. A temporary buydown lowers the interest rate, and therefore the principal & interest payment, for the first one to three years, after which the rate returns to the locked note rate for the remainder of the term; the buydown cost shown is the sum of those monthly reductions on a 30-year (360-month) amortization. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, and mortgage insurance are not reduced by either path and are excluded here. Seller concessions are limited by loan program, occupancy, and loan-to-value, and a buydown typically requires the buyer to qualify at the note rate. Net-to-seller is close between the two paths; a higher recorded sale price can mean slightly higher percentage-based commission. This is not a pre-approval, a commitment to lend, or financial, tax, or legal advice — actual rate, payment, buydown cost, concession limits, and eligibility depend on the lender, program, and full borrower profile and are subject to change without notice. Equal Housing Opportunity.