As homebuilders grow more cautious and concerned about the housing market, some buyers are finding more opportunities to negotiate.
A newly released survey from the National Association of Home Builders shows a decline builder confidence in the market for newly single-family homes and several other factors indicating more builders are growing les optimistic about sales and new projects.
The October survey found 43% of builders cut prices, with the average price reduction being 6%. It also showed another 65% of builders reported using sales incentives, continuing a streak of 19 consecutive months in which at least 60% of builders offered incentives.
NBC 5 discussed the survey with Shelyna Tinglin, an associate broker with Real Brokerage and a national and state real estate trainer. She shared that she has seen incentives help buyers who otherwise may have struggled to buy a home.
“I’ve had first-time homebuyers; one client, she’s a veterinary assistant, was able to purchase a home because of those incentives. So, when you start thinking about the first-time homebuyer who is only used to paying rent, and now you tell her, ‘Hey, that same amount you pay for rent, give us about $200, $300 more, and you’re owning your own home.’ She jumped on that immediately,” she said.
Tinglin also described another client who received $50,000 in builder incentives, with some of that money helping buy down the mortgage rate. She said builders are also reducing prices in some cases.
The concessions come as builders report substantially weaker buyer traffic and low expectations for sales over the next six months.
New construction data from the U.S. Census Bureau also shows caution in the new-home market.
According to the September 2026 New Residential Construction report from the Census Bureau and Department of Housing and Urban Development, single-family housing starts were down 4.6%
You can read the U.S. Census Bureau/HUD New Residential Construction report here.
Tinglin said today’s incentives may not necessarily last. If builders sell off existing inventory and eventually have more buyers competing for fewer available new homes, she said some of those concessions could disappear.
For buyers considering a builder’s mortgage-rate buydown, Tinglin said it is also important to determine whether the incentive is temporary or permanent and, in the case of a temporary buydown, whether the buyer can afford the eventual full monthly payment.
