Can your Evans or Grovetown home compete with builder incentives?
Yes, but not by matching the builder's rate. A builder who buys a 7% mortgage down to 5.5% can lower a buyer's payment by roughly $330 a month on a $300,000 loan, and a resale price cut alone would need to be about $48,500 to match it. Your better options are a seller-paid rate buydown or closing cost credit, a price set against what new homes actually cost with their incentives, and a clean, move-in-ready presentation, all worked out before you list.
You list your Evans home, and the first showing feedback says the buyers also toured a new house down the road that comes with a 4.99% rate and thousands in closing help. Your house is lovely and priced fairly, and you can't offer a rate that low. So what do you do?
This is one of the most common frustrations I hear from CSRA sellers right now, and it comes up in real estate forums too. Here is how I walk sellers through it.
What builders are actually offering
Builder incentives aren't a side note this fall. In the NAHB's September survey, 66% of builders were using sales incentives, and 38% had cut prices, by an average of 6%. Realtor.com's August data showed 18.8% of new-construction listings advertising at least one incentive, and 13.8% advertising a reduced mortgage rate, with an average advertised rate of 3.92%.
Closer to home, the Grovetown builder promotions I found this fall advertised rates around 4.99% on FHA loans and 5.50% on conventional loans, plus up to $6,000 toward closing costs and about $8,000 in flex cash. Those offers change often and come with conditions, so treat them as a snapshot, not a quote.
The Freddie Mac 30-year average was 7.18% on November 5, 2026. That gap, roughly 1.7 to 2.2 points, is what you're up against.
What the gap does to a monthly payment
Here is an illustration on a $300,000 loan, principal and interest only:
- At 7.18%: about $2,032 a month.
- At 5.50%: about $1,703 a month, a difference of about $329.
- At 4.99%: about $1,609 a month, a difference of about $424.
To bring your home's payment down to the 5.50% level with price alone, the loan would have to drop to about $251,400. On a $375,000 home with 20% down, that is roughly $48,500 off the price, or about 13%. Real estate analysts at John Burns Research and Consulting reached a similar conclusion nationally: a resale price would need to fall roughly 15% to match a builder buying the rate down from 7% to 5.5%, and more if the new home has a warranty and newer appliances.
That is why a price cut alone is usually the most expensive way to compete. You give up a large chunk of equity to close a gap that a smaller, targeted offer can narrow. My post on price cut or rate buydown works through that trade in detail.
Where a resale home wins
Builder incentives are tied to a builder's own lender, a specific house plan, and often a closing date. A resale home can compete in ways a new build can't:
- Move-in timing. Your home is finished. No construction schedule, no waiting on a closing date.
- What's already done. Fenced yard, mature trees, finished landscaping, blinds, and a full set of appliances are often add-ons or extra costs in a new build.
- Lot and location. Compare actual lot size, setbacks, and distance to the things that matter. Newer neighborhoods in Grovetown and Evans often sit on smaller lots, so a larger yard is a real property advantage.
- Total cost of the contract. A builder's advertised price usually leaves out upgrades. When a new house is priced to match yours, the version with similar flooring, countertops, and a fence is often well above the base price. My post on the true cost difference between new builds and resale homes covers this.
How I price and package a resale home against a builder
- Look at the competition's real price. Price your home against comparable new homes with their options and incentives included, not their starting prices.
- Decide where your dollars work hardest. A seller-paid concession of around 3% on a $300,000 loan is about $9,000. A 2-1 buydown at today's rate would lower the buyer's payment by about $389 a month in year one and $199 in year two, worth roughly $7,000 over two years. Compare that with a price cut of the same size, which saves the buyer much less each month. Ask your lender what a buydown costs on your specific loan.
- Know what your buyer's lender will allow. Concession limits vary by loan type, and appraisals still apply. My post on what to expect at appraisal explains the risks.
- Fix the first impression. A new house shows spotless. Yours has to match it. Deep clean, patch and paint, and review common staging mistakes before photos.
- Know your costs. Concessions come out of your proceeds. See my post on closing costs in Georgia and South Carolina so you know your net before you offer anything.
Every house, loan, and timeline is different. The right mix depends on your payoff, your price range, and what is being built within a mile of you, and that is the analysis I run with sellers before we set a price.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I offer a rate buydown as a resale seller?
Often yes. Sellers can pay points or fund a temporary buydown through a concession, within the limits of the buyer's loan program. Ask your lender or mine for the cost on your price point before you decide.
Do builder incentives really beat a lower resale price?
On monthly payment, a rate buydown usually does. On total cost, it depends on the contract price, the upgrades, and whether the rate is fixed for the full term or temporary. A buyer should compare the builder lender's Loan Estimate with an outside quote.
Should I wait until builders stop offering incentives?
I wouldn't plan around it. Builders offer incentives to move inventory, and nobody knows when that ends. Waiting also means carrying costs while your home sits. A sharper price and a concession often cost less than waiting.
Is a price cut ever the right move?
Yes. If your home is priced above recent pending sales, a price adjustment fixes the real problem. A concession can't make up for a price that's out of line. My post on how to tell if a home is overpriced shows how I check.
Does this apply to North Augusta and Aiken?
The same math applies anywhere a new community sits near your home. Check which builders are active within a few miles, since incentives differ by builder and neighborhood.
Your next step
You don't have to match the builder. You have to show buyers a total cost and a home that makes sense next to theirs, and that takes the right price and the right offer.
Did your listing expire, or did you take your home off the market? Or are you trying to decide whether to list now or wait? Request a free Second Opinion Listing Review, and I'll show you what today's numbers say about your price, your timing, and what you would actually net at closing.
About Emily Hadden
Emily Hadden is Vice President and a REALTOR® with Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Co., licensed in Georgia and South Carolina. She brings 30+ years of advertising and sales experience to the work she has done since 2015: helping sellers price and position homes across Augusta, Evans, Martinez, Grovetown, North Augusta and Aiken.
Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Co. | Office: 706.863.8953 | Emily Hadden, Direct: 706.306.5264
601 Scott Nixon Memorial Drive, Augusta, GA 30907
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Payment and cost examples are illustrations, not quotes, and your numbers will differ. Market figures come from the NAHB, Realtor.com, John Burns Research and Consulting, and Freddie Mac as cited. Builder offers change often and carry conditions. Concession limits and lending terms vary by loan program and lender, so confirm details with your lender. This article is not tax, legal, or lending advice.
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