What Builders Will Actually Negotiate

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 centre 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.