Austin Builder Incentives
What each one is worth, and the catch in each one
The short answer
Austin builders compete mainly through incentives rather than price, because a recorded price cut lowers the comparable sales for every unsold home in the community. The five shapes you will see are rate buydowns, closing cost credits, price reductions, design center allowances and extended rate locks. They are not interchangeable: a permanent rate buydown is usually worth more than an equal price cut if you keep the loan past about five years, and a design allowance is worth close to nothing if it buys things you did not want.
Builder incentives can change at any moment.
Builders add, cut and pull offers without notice, and what applies varies by community and by individual home. Anything shown here is a snapshot, not a quote, and it may already be out of date by the time you read it. Reach out to me for the latest and I will confirm what is actually on the table this week, including offers that are never advertised.
Offers below last reviewed October 14, 2026.
Ready to see actual homes?
Current inventory with pricing, updated by the builders themselves. Incentives change constantly, so ask me what applies to a specific home.
What builders are offering right now
5 percent toward closing costs, with an owner's title policy included.
On eligible homes. Lennar states that incentives are subject to change and vary by home, and that its offers may require using its designated lender or closing agent. Ask me which homes qualify.
Confirmed 2026-10-02 · Email from a Lennar Austin new home consultant
Rates as low as 3.99 percent (5.362 percent APR) on a 7/6 ARM, fixed for the first seven years.
Through Pulte Mortgage. Their published example assumes a 780 FICO, a primary residence and 20 percent down, with all incentives applied toward closing costs; the rate adjusts every six months from year eight. Pulte states the rate was effective 9/17/2026, that loans must be locked and closed by 12/31/2026, and that it is offered first come first served. An ARM is not the right product for everyone — ask me to price it against a fixed rate before you decide.
Confirmed 2026-09-18 · Pulte Homes Central Texas email
4.99 percent (5.76 percent APR) FHA 30-year fixed rate with as little as 3.5 percent down on select quick move-in homes.
Through Toll Brothers Mortgage Company, for buyers who sign on a select quick move-in home on or after 9/4/2026 and close by 10/30/2026. Toll's published example assumes a $509,224 price and a 660 minimum credit score; limited availability and subject to change. Toll is also running a National Sales Event for deposits 10/3 to 10/18 with savings that vary by home.
Confirmed 2026-10-13 · Toll Brothers emails, 10/3 and 10/13/2026
Year End Sales Event: choose up to $50,000 in flex cash or a 5.49 percent rate (6.278 percent APR, 30-year fixed), plus a move-in package.
On qualifying inventory homes, which must close by 12/31/2026. Perry has also cut prices on inventory homes near Georgetown.
Where: Parmer Ranch, Georgetown, Parkside on the River, Georgetown
Confirmed 2026-10-03 · Email from a Perry Homes Austin new home sales counselor
Up to $60,000 in flex cash plus a 1-0 rate buydown on to-be-built homes, or a 4.99 percent first-year rate on quick move-in homes.
To-be-built: contracts from 10/8 to 10/31/2026 that can close by 5/31/2027; flex cash goes to design options or closing costs. Quick move-in: 4.99 percent in year one, then 5.99 percent fixed for years 2 to 30 (6.032 percent APR, conventional), on homes that can close by 12/4/2026; an FHA/VA rate is also offered, so ask me for that number. Both require financing through Highland HomeLoans, funds are limited, and they cannot be combined with other offers.
Confirmed 2026-10-14 · Highland Homes email, 10/14/2026
Red Tag Event, 10/9 to 11/1/2026: special pricing on select homes, plus up to $10,000 in closing costs with DHI Mortgage.
Contracts during the event must close by 12/27/2026; first come, first served. The closing cost credit cannot exceed 2 percent of the final sales price and requires DHI Mortgage. Incentives vary by community and home.
Confirmed 2026-10-02 · D.R. Horton Austin Division email
Below-market rates and up to $10,000 in closing costs on select quick move-in homes, contracts through 10/15/2026.
Requires financing through MTH Mortgage and using Carefree Title. The closing cost credit cannot exceed 3 percent of the base price. Meritage does not publish a single rate; ask me for the number on a specific home.
Confirmed 2026-10-01 · Meritage Homes email
National Sales Event extended through 10/18/2026: savings on select quick move-in homes.
Applies to select inventory homes with contracts from 9/3 to 10/18/2026. Savings vary by home; in Coventry's own examples they ranged from $8,000 to $80,000.
Confirmed 2026-10-01 · Coventry Homes email
Up to 6 percent flex cash on qualifying homes, usable for a promotional rate as low as 4.5 percent (6.480 percent APR, FHA 5/1 ARM).
Flex cash can buy down the rate when you finance with Brohn's preferred lender, CMG Financial. Brohn's "hot homes" get an extra 3 percent flex cash toward closing costs. At Cross Creek (Cedar Park), the final homes get the choice of up to 6 percent flex cash or a reduced rate. The 4.5 percent rate is an adjustable-rate loan fixed for five years: ask me to price it against a fixed rate before you decide.
Confirmed 2026-10-10 · Brohn Homes Austin email (10/8/2026) and a Brohn sales executive (10/10/2026)
What each incentive is really worth
Rate buydown
- What it is
- The builder pays points to the lender to lower your mortgage rate, either permanently for the life of the loan or temporarily for the first one to three years. A permanent buydown is the more valuable of the two and builders do not always make the distinction clear.
- What it is worth to you
- Work it out as a monthly payment difference multiplied by how long you actually expect to keep the loan, not by thirty years. A permanent buydown of a point or more on a mid-priced Austin home is usually worth more than an equivalent price reduction if you keep the mortgage past about five years. If you expect to refinance or move sooner, it is worth considerably less.
- The catch
- Almost always tied to the builder's in-house lender, and often to their title company as well. The tied loan may carry a higher fee load that eats part of the benefit, so get a full loan estimate from the builder lender and from an outside lender and compare the all-in cost, not the rate.
- Typical in Austin
- The largest single incentive in the Austin market. On entry-level inventory, buydowns taking the rate into the low fours or below have been common.
Closing cost credit
- What it is
- The builder contributes a fixed dollar amount toward your closing costs and prepaid items — title, escrow, the first year of insurance, tax reserves, and loan fees.
- What it is worth to you
- Dollar for dollar, and immediately. Unlike a buydown it does not depend on how long you keep the loan. The constraint is that it can only be applied to actual closing costs, so a credit larger than your closing costs is partly wasted unless it can be redirected to a buydown.
- The catch
- There is a cap on how much a seller can contribute depending on your loan type and down payment, and a credit above that cap is simply lost. Also frequently tied to the in-house lender.
- Typical in Austin
- Commonly quoted in the several-thousand to five-figure range on a mid-priced Austin home, and higher on standing inventory.
Price reduction
- What it is
- A straight cut to the purchase price. The rarest of these, because it is the one that shows up in the public record.
- What it is worth to you
- It lowers your loan, your monthly payment, and your property tax basis, and it is the only incentive that keeps working after you refinance. Per dollar it is the cleanest thing you can get.
- The catch
- Builders resist it hardest, and for a reason that matters to you too: a recorded price cut becomes a comparable sale for every other home in the community, including yours when you sell. Builders protect the price and pay you in other ways to avoid that. This is genuinely a case where the builder's interest and yours partly align.
- Typical in Austin
- Mostly seen on standing inventory that has aged past a few months, and near quarter or year end.
Design center allowance
- What it is
- A credit to spend at the builder's design studio on finishes, fixtures, and sometimes structural options.
- What it is worth to you
- Worth full value only if you were going to spend it anyway. Builder design-center pricing carries a substantial margin, so a $10,000 allowance does not buy $10,000 of work at contractor prices — it buys whatever the builder charges $10,000 for. Structural items are the exception and are worth taking here, because they cannot be added later at any sensible price.
- The catch
- It is spend-or-lose, it can only be used at their studio, and it tends to encourage spending past the allowance. Some builders offer a design-center minimum and an allowance in the same breath, which is not the same as a discount.
- Typical in Austin
- The default concession from move-up and semi-custom builders who will not move on price.
Extended rate lock or float-down
- What it is
- On a to-be-built home with a long construction timeline, the builder's lender locks your rate further out than a standard lock, sometimes with a one-time float-down if rates fall before closing.
- What it is worth to you
- On a build running six months or more this can be worth more than any cash concession, because the alternative is carrying the rate risk yourself on a house you are already committed to buy.
- The catch
- Extended locks cost money, and somebody pays. Ask explicitly whether the lock is free, built into the price, or charged at closing, and whether the float-down is automatic or has to be requested inside a window.
- Typical in Austin
- Standard part of the package from semi-custom and luxury builders on long builds. Rarely offered on inventory homes.
How each builder structures incentives
Builders have consistent habits. The amounts change; the shape usually does not.
Lennar
Large rate buydowns and closing-cost credits, conditioned on Lennar Mortgage and Lennar Title. Periodic price reductions on standing inventory. Rarely a base-price cut on a to-be-built.
Meritage Homes
Rate buydowns through the in-house lender, closing-cost credits, and periodic price cuts on standing quick move-in homes.
Taylor Morrison
Design-center allowances, closing-cost credits through the in-house lender, and extended rate locks on to-be-built homes.
Coventry Homes
Closing-cost credits and design-center allowances, occasionally a rate buydown through an affiliated lender.
M/I Homes
Price reductions on standing inventory that can close inside the quarter, plus closing-cost credits and buydowns through the affiliated lender.
Chesmar Homes
Modest closing-cost credits and occasional buydowns. More willing to accommodate a specific request than to cut the price.
Pulte Homes
Rate buydowns and closing-cost credits through Pulte Mortgage. Periodic incentives on standing inventory.
D.R. Horton
Aggressive rate buydowns through DHI Mortgage, closing-cost credits, and frequent price adjustments on standing inventory.
Highland Homes
Design-center allowances and closing-cost credits. Price movement is limited.
Perry Homes
Closing-cost contributions, occasional buydowns. Base price rarely moves.
David Weekley Homes
Design-center allowances and closing-cost help. Price movement is rare.
Toll Brothers
Design studio allowances, closing-cost contributions, and financing incentives through Toll Brothers Mortgage on long builds.
Brohn Homes
Rate buydowns and closing-cost credits, focused on completed homes.
KB Home
Closing-cost credits and rate buydowns through KBHS Home Loans, plus studio allowances.
Ashton Woods
Closing-cost credits, studio allowances, and buydowns that vary by community.
GFO Home
Modest closing-cost credits and occasional buydowns, negotiated case by case rather than posted.
On your side of the table
What I watch for on an incentive package
- Whether the buydown is permanent or temporary. A 2-1 buydown and a permanent rate buy are advertised in nearly the same words and are worth very different amounts.
- The deadline. Incentive offers are tied to closing by a specific date, so I get that date in writing early and have your lender confirm they can hit it comfortably rather than exactly.
- What the builder is willing to add on this specific home beyond the advertised program, which is a conversation about one address rather than about the community.
- Whether a concession written for you cancels out a bonus elsewhere on the statement. Read the total compensation line, not the individual items.
- The all-in cost of the tied loan against an outside quote, fees included, not the headline rate.
- Whether the offer is still available. Incentive programs get pulled and replaced without notice, so I re-confirm before you make a decision on the strength of one.
On new construction the builder pays my fee in most cases, disclosed in writing before we tour. None of this costs you anything, and all of it has to happen before you walk into a sales office alone.
Builder incentives, answered
When are Austin builder incentives the biggest? ▾
At the end of a quarter, and at the end of the calendar year most of all. Builders manage to closing counts, and a home that closes inside the period is worth materially more to them than one that closes a week later at a slightly higher price. If your timeline is flexible by even two or three weeks, aligning it to a builder's quarter end is the cheapest negotiating leverage available to you. The second-best window is any home that has been standing completed for several months.
Can I negotiate builder incentives, or are they fixed? ▾
The advertised package is usually fixed, because it is a marketing program. What is negotiable is what sits on top of it for a specific home: an additional closing-cost contribution, a lot premium reduced, a design allowance added. That is a conversation about one address, not about the community, and it usually happens with the sales manager rather than the agent in the model home.
Do I lose the incentive if I use my own lender? ▾
In most cases yes, at least the headline portion of it. Builders tie their largest incentives to their affiliated mortgage and title companies. You can use any lender you want, and you should still get an outside quote — but compare the all-in cost including fees rather than the rate alone, because the tied buydown often does win, and you want to know by how much rather than assume either way.
Is a rate buydown better than a price cut? ▾
It depends entirely on how long you keep the loan. A permanent buydown usually beats an equivalent price reduction if you hold the mortgage beyond roughly five years, because the monthly saving compounds. A price cut wins if you expect to refinance or sell sooner, and it also lowers your property tax basis, which the buydown does not. Run both as a total cost over your realistic holding period rather than accepting the larger headline number.
Why do builders prefer incentives over lowering the price? ▾
Because a recorded price reduction becomes a comparable sale that drags down the value of every other home in the community, including the ones they have not sold yet. An incentive does not appear in the sales price. That is also why a price cut is worth fighting for when you can get one, and why you rarely can until a home has been standing for months.
What is the catch with a "free" upgrade package? ▾
It is priced at the builder's design-center margin rather than at what the work costs. A free upgrade package is real value if it contains things you wanted, and close to zero if it does not, because it is spend-or-lose and only usable at their studio. Structural items are the part worth taking, since they cannot be added later at a sensible price. Finish-level items are usually cheaper to do yourself after closing.
Keep exploring
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