Dollar for dollar, a buydown moves the monthly payment more. A price cut wins on almost everything else, and the lower price is usually our lean. The mechanics: points move the rate faster than a price cut moves the loan balance, so if the only goal is the lowest payment on day one, a seller- or builder-funded buydown wins that narrow contest. What a price reduction buys you instead: - Ten thousand dollars off the purchase price is ten thousand of equity from day one. - A permanently smaller loan. - In California, a lower property tax basis for as long as you own the home. Points are a sunk cost. If rates fall later and you refinance, the buydown you paid for is gone, while the lower price stays with you and you capture the lower rate too. The catch is that most buyers live in the payment rather than the price, which is exactly why builders push incentives over price cuts. Two notes on new construction: a funded buydown can raise your loan amount, and on an FHA loan it adds to the insured balance. And always ask the builder what they're most willing to give on. Sales offices often carry big margins on design-center upgrades (we've seen roughly 100% markups on things like quartz counters), so there may be more room there than on the headline price. Confirm the current seller- and builder-credit caps for your loan type, since those limits change. The buydown-versus-price-cut math is something some people want to see, and we'll run that comparison for you on the free Roadmap conversation.