What Builders Will Actually Negotiate
Builders rarely move on base price. They move on almost everything else — and most buyers never ask.
The most expensive assumption a new-construction buyer makes is that the price on the sheet is the deal. It is not. Base price is the number the builder protects because it sets the comps for every other home in the community. Everything around that number is negotiable.
Closing cost contributions through the preferred lender, rate buydowns, design center allowances, appliance packages, lot premium waivers, and structural upgrade credits are all levers I have seen move. The size of the lever depends almost entirely on where the community is in its build-out.
A phase-one community with a waitlist will give you very little. A final-phase community with three standing inventory homes and a quarter to close will give you a great deal more. Knowing which building you are standing in is most of the job.
Metro Atlanta real estate · Licensed in Georgia & South Carolina · REAL Broker, LLC
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