The Dangers of Builder Credits

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What Are Some of the Dangers of Large Builder Credits?

My name’s Evan Kaufman, your loan originator—here to help explain.

Recently, some folks have been getting very large builder credits when purchasing a home. Let’s say a home builder is selling a home for $500,000 (a general range for new builds around the country), and they’re offering something big—like a 6% or 7% builder credit (sometimes referred to as a seller credit).

That could amount to $30,000 to $35,000 or more in builder credits to help buy down interest rates—or use however the buyer wants.

Sounds great, right?

Let’s talk about:

Why builders are offering those credits, and
What dangers you need to be aware of if you’re using them

Why Are Builders Offering Large Credits?

I grew up in a family of builders, so I understand this well.

Builders offer these credits primarily to:

Move inventory quickly, especially if a home has been sitting for a while
Incentivize buyers during slower markets or when interest rates are high

When demand slows or surplus builds up, builders increase incentives like credits rather than lowering the sale price, which is key to what we’ll talk about next.

The Appraisal Problem

Here’s where it starts to get risky for buyers:

In a new build community, appraisers typically use other recent new build sales as comps (comparable properties). If homes have been selling at $500,000, appraisers will try to confirm the value by comparing it to similar sales at that price.

But here’s the trick: builders want to keep the sales price high (like $500,000) to protect the community’s appraised values, even if the market value is closer to $475,000.

So instead of lowering the sale price, they offer huge credits—e.g., “$25,000 builder credit”—to keep the official price at $500,000 but sweeten the deal.

Appraisers should adjust for this, but it’s not a perfect science. And this leads to a danger:

Danger #1: Resale Risk / Being Underwater

Let’s say:

You buy a home at $500,000
You receive a $25,000 builder credit
You use that credit to buy down your interest rate

Great! But what if:

You get relocated (military PCS, job change, etc.)
You have to sell the home a year or two later
The market value is really $475,000, not $500,000

You may now find yourself underwater—you owe more than the home can sell for.
And unless you can offer a $25,000 credit (like the builder did), it likely won’t fetch the same price.

✅ Pro Tip:

Work with a real estate agent independent from the builder who can run a proper comparative market analysis (CMA) on:

Similar resale homes (not just new builds)
Homes built by the same builder but now being resold

This gives you a realistic view of the true market value.

Danger #2: Misleading Value from Rate Buydowns

Let’s say you use that builder credit to buy down your interest rate by 1–2 percentage points. Sounds good, right?

Not so fast.

Here’s what you need to analyze:

Are those points worth it?
What’s the payback period?

Quick Recap on Points:

1 point = 1% of loan amount
Points do not reduce your interest rate 1-for-1
There’s diminishing return the more points you use

Example: If you use a large builder credit to buy down your rate and it takes 10–15 years to break even based on monthly savings… and you only plan to stay in the home for 3–5 years…
That’s a poor investment.

And Here’s the Bigger Problem:

If you use all that credit to buy down your rate but later need to sell the home:

The new buyer doesn’t benefit from your low rate
The credit is gone
And again, you may be stuck underwater

So ask yourself:

“Is this buy-down worth it? Or is it just making the monthly payment look prettier?”

✅ Alternative Uses for Builder Credits:

Instead of using the full credit to buy down your rate, consider:

Using part of it for home enhancements
(Only if it genuinely increases property value)
Paying off other debts (especially with VA loans)
Negotiating a lower sale price
(Tougher with builders, but worth asking)