Yes, a seller can pay points to buy down your rate, and when rates are elevated it's often an easier ask than a straight price cut. Just be clear on what a credit really is before you chase one. Seller-paid points come in as interested-party contributions, so they're capped by loan type: - Conventional: the cap scales with your down payment on a primary residence or second home. With less than 10% down, the seller can contribute up to 3% of the price; with 10 to 25% down, up to 6%; with more than 25% down, up to 9%. Investment properties are capped at 2% regardless of down payment. - FHA: up to 6% of the sales price at any down payment. Credits beyond 6% reduce the sales price dollar-for-dollar for the loan calculation, and no interested-party credit can fund your minimum required investment. - VA: seller concessions are capped at 4% of the established reasonable value, but the seller paying your normal closing costs and market-rate discount points sits outside that cap, so the effective room is commonly larger than 4%. Whatever the program, a credit applied to points has to genuinely buy the rate down. No padding. Now the honest framing. We lean against paying points with your own money. Seller money changes the math, and it still isn't free: a credit is given in lieu of a lower purchase price, so it's your money, financed into the loan for as long as you hold it. Used deliberately (cover closing costs first, then a buydown only if the numbers work for how long you'll keep the loan), it can be a smart negotiation, and asking for the credit during escrow rather than baking it into the opening offer often keeps the deal cleaner. Whether a buydown beats the equivalent price cut is something some people want to see side by side. We'll run that comparison for you on a Roadmap call so you can judge the break-even with your own numbers.