https://clear-hub.pages.dev/presentations/topics/price-cut-or-buydown.js

1/* Class: Price cut or buydown? — Market & Money.
2   Math: $425,000 price, 5% down, 30-yr fixed, 7.00% illustrative base rate.
3   P&I = L·i / (1 − (1+i)^−360), i = rate/1200. Base loan $403,750 → $2,686/mo.
4   $10K price cut → loan $394,250 → $2,623 (−$63). 2-1 buydown: yr1 at 5.00% → $2,167 (−$519),
5   yr2 at 6.00% → $2,421 (−$265); cost = 12·519 + 12·265 ≈ $9,411. Permanent: ≈2.48 pts, shown as
6   7.00% → 6.50% → $2,552 (−$134), illustrative pricing. Stats verified 2026-09-29. */
7{ // scope: each class file shares the page's global scope in the browser
8const T = {
9  id: 'price-cut-or-buydown',
10  title: 'Price cut or buydown?',
11  subtitle: 'What $10,000 of seller money really buys your buyer.',
12  track: 'Market & Money',
13  minutes: 45,
14  reviewed: '2026-09-29',   // date every number was last checked against its source
15  reviewEveryDays: 30,
16  reviewNote: 'Market stats (Redfin, Realtor.com, NAR) re-check monthly; payment math is illustrative and fixed.',
17  blurb: 'Your seller wants to give $10,000. See which way of giving it moves your buyer’s payment the most, and why.',
18  learn: [
19    'What a $10,000 seller credit does to the payment, four different ways',
20    "Why a 2-1 buydown can beat a price cut in year one, and when it can't",
21    'How to walk your seller through the choice before the next offer',
22  ],
23  buydown: true,
24  sources: [
25    'Redfin, Sept 18 2026 (44.7% of August sales had seller concessions): https://www.redfin.com/news/home-seller-concessions-august-2026/',
26    'Realtor.com August 2026 housing report (20.4% of listings had a price cut): https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/delistings-trend-below-last-years-pace-as-summer-comes-to-an-end-realtorcom-august-housing-report-302866775.html',
27    'NAR existing-home sales, August 2026 (4.9 months of supply): https://www.nar.realtor/newsroom/nar-existing-home-sales-report-shows-2-0-decrease-in-august',
28  ],
29  slides: [
30    { type: 'title', eyebrow: 'Realtor Workshop',
31      notes: 'Open with a question: "Who has a seller right now asking whether to cut the price?" Hands go up in every room right now. Tell them the next 30 minutes answers exactly that, with real math they can use in their next listing appointment.' },
32    { type: 'stats', eyebrow: 'Why this matters now', title: 'Buyers have the leverage right now.',
33      stats: [
34        { big: '45%', label: 'of August home sales included seller concessions, a record for August', src: 'Redfin, Sept 2026' },
35        { big: '1 in 5', label: 'active listings had a price cut last month', src: 'Realtor.com, Aug 2026' },
36        { big: '4.9', unit: 'months', label: 'of inventory, the most in over a decade', src: 'NAR, Aug 2026' },
37      ],
38      notes: 'Keep this quick. The point: concessions are normal right now, so the question is not whether the seller gives something, it is what form it takes. Sources: Redfin 9/18/2026, Realtor.com 9/2/2026, NAR existing-home sales for August 2026.' },
39    { type: 'cards', eyebrow: 'The options', title: 'Four ways to spend the same $10,000.',
40      items: [
41        { icon: 'tag', name: 'Price cut', line: 'Lower list price. Smaller loan, smaller payment, for good.' },
42        { icon: 'calendar', name: '2-1 temporary buydown', line: 'Rate 2% lower in year one, 1% lower in year two.' },
43        { icon: 'lock', name: 'Permanent buydown', line: 'Seller buys points. Lower rate for the life of the loan.' },
44        { icon: 'wallet', name: 'Closing-cost credit', line: 'Less cash to close. Payment stays the same.' },
45      ],
46      notes: 'One sentence per option. Mention that buydowns and credits count toward program concession limits, which vary by loan type and down payment. That is our job to track, not theirs.' },
47    { type: 'chart', eyebrow: 'The math', title: 'Same $10,000. Very different payments.',
48      scenario: '$425,000 home · 5% down · 30-year fixed · 7.00% illustrative rate', unit: '$/mo',
49      bars: [
50        { label: '2-1, year 1', value: 519 }, { label: '2-1, year 2', value: 265 },
51        { label: 'Permanent', value: 134 }, { label: 'Price cut', value: 63 },
52      ],
53      callout: { big: '$519', small: 'lower payment in year one with a 2-1 buydown', vs: '$63', vsSmall: 'with a $10,000 price cut' },
54      notes: 'Bars show how much lower the monthly principal and interest payment is. Base payment $2,686. The 2-1 buydown costs about $9,411, which fits inside the $10,000. Permanent buydown shown as about 2.5 points taking 7.00% to 6.50%; real pricing changes daily. Pause and let the room react to the gap between $63 and $519.' },
55    { type: 'table', eyebrow: 'Side by side', title: 'What each option really does.',
56      scenario: 'Same scenario. Base payment $2,686/mo principal and interest.',
57      head: ['Seller’s $10,000 goes to', 'Payment drops by', 'For how long'],
58      rows: [
59        ['Price cut', '$63/mo', 'Life of the loan'],
60        ['2-1 temporary buydown', '$519, then $265/mo', 'Year 1, then year 2'],
61        ['Permanent buydown (≈2.5 pts)', '$134/mo', 'Life of the loan'],
62        ['Closing-cost credit', '$0/mo', '$10,000 less cash to close'],
63      ],
64      highlight: 1, note: 'Year one: about 8x the payment relief of a price cut.',
65      notes: 'This is the slide agents photograph. Point out that the price cut also lowers the sale price the next comp is measured against, which matters to 

65sellers in the same neighborhood.' },
66    { type: 'decision', eyebrow: 'Your seller conversation', title: 'Which one, when?',
67      rows: [
68        { if: 'Buyer is nervous about the first-year payment', then: '2-1 temporary buydown' },
69        { if: 'Buyer plans to stay put for the long haul', then: 'Permanent buydown' },
70        { if: 'Buyer has the income but not the cash', then: 'Closing-cost credit' },
71        { if: 'Listing is priced above the market', then: 'Price cut (fix the price)' },
72      ],
73      notes: 'There is no single right answer, which is why they should call you before the seller conversation. Never promise that rates will fall or that a buyer can refinance later.' },
74    { type: 'exercise', eyebrow: 'Your turn', title: 'Try it on one of your listings.',
75      blanks: ['List price', 'What the seller will give', 'Buyer’s biggest worry'],
76      checkTitle: 'Which one fits?',
77      checks: ['First-year payment feels too high: 2-1 buydown', 'Staying 7+ years: permanent buydown', 'Short on cash to close: closing-cost credit', 'Overpriced for the market: price cut'],
78      notes: 'Hand out the printed worksheet. Give the room three minutes, then have two agents share. Offer to run the real numbers on any listing they wrote down.' },
79    { type: 'close', title: 'Let’s run the numbers on your next listing.',
80      line: 'Send me the address. I will show you all four options, side by side, before you talk to your seller.',
81      notes: 'Ask for one listing address from each agent before they leave. A side-by-side sheet within 24 hours is your follow-up meeting. Keep it to loan scenarios for their clients; do not offer to market the listing for them.' },
82  ],
83};
84if (typeof window !== 'undefined') (window.CLEAR_TOPICS = window.CLEAR_TOPICS || {})[T.id] = T;
85if (typeof module !== 'undefined') module.exports = T;
86}