Builder Incentives Make it a Great Time to Buy at Gregg Ranch

Purchasing your dream home in recent years has meant trying to time the home you want with the best price and the best interest rate in a frantic market. Post-pandemic home values surged as demand skyrocketed. Often, buyers were forced to compromise, including buying used homes or locating in subdivisions with no amenities, rather than a new warrantied home in a fully planned community. Now as the housing market shifts, experts say it’s a great time for buyers looking to find everything they want at the price they want. With spec homes built and ready to sell, preferred lender rates, and upgrade incentives available now, now really does mark a significant shift in the marketplace. “Many builders, including us here at Pulte, are offering incentives that can be used in a variety of ways,” said Miriam Rudy, Mortgage Finance Advisor for Pulte Homes.

Experts in the industry confirm the tides have turned in favor of the buyer for a number of reasons. “With adjusted home prices and interest rates, the playing field is leveling out, including for those who require financing to purchase a home. For the first time in a while, buyers have leverage to get the deal that suits the needs of their family and their budget,” Rudy added.

Right now buyers at Gregg Ranch can take advantage of 9 quick move-in homes available. These will mark the close out of Phase 1 and herald in the second phase of the community- expected in early-to-mid 2023. The Pulte-built homes are designed with open, modern floor plans of various sizes to meet the needs of diverse Gregg Ranch residents, whether you’re single, young couples, growing families, or empty nesters.

The home that best suits your needs can be matched with a financing plan that best suits your budget. Pulte is currently offering $10,000 toward closing costs as well as other incentives that can be used toward financing. These incentives include interest rate buy-downs and 7-year ARMS. “Buyers really need to visit with us, sit down with a loan consultant and look at the options. So many folks are surprised at the payment differences when you use those incentives to lower your rate for the term of the loan,” said Rudy. “It’s just a better bang for your buck to apply it toward the rate rather than the closing costs or the sales price. You’ll save so much more money over the years.”

Pulte sales agents are armed with tools to show potential buyers the numbers and the options available to them. “They can work through different scenarios with you,” said Rudy. “If you were to take this money and use it for the rate, this is your payment versus taking it off the price of the home.” One option available to buyers at Gregg Ranch is Pulte’s national promotion of a 7-year adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). “The 7-year ARM is an initial rate, so you’ll have to refinance down the road,” said Rudy. The interest rate will adjust every year based on what the market is doing but those fluctuations have caps. Rudy says you never keep that rate for the term of the loan. “You’re taking this rate to get in the home at a lesser payment than the rate of a 30-year fixed mortgage. The beauty of this is when you go to refinance, you’ve built up equity in the home so you can get a lower rate and very likely drop the mortgage insurance.”

“You can’t always think of the rate, think of the payment instead. “If you put paper and pencil together, go old school and ask where is my money going? The home may be at a good price so instead of throwing that money away, use it to buy down the interest rate.”

These flexible financing options mean it’s an especially good time to be a first-time homebuyer or a buyer working through FHA. At the peak of the housing surge, a large percentage of buyers were paying cash and had great credit, so they were the ones getting the most desirable houses. Now that things have settled down, other homebuyers have a seat at the table.

Located in charming Marble Falls, Texas this 240-acre master-planned community is northwest of Austin and is anticipated to be home to approximately 700 single-family and 250 multi-family residences. A central community area with an outdoor pool, ramada, barbeque area, shaded play area and bocce ball and horseshoe pits are planned. Gregg Ranch outdoor amenities will also include 5.5 miles of jogging and biking trails throughout the community, plus a dog park. The community is conveniently located at the intersection of State Highways 281 and 71, and is a short drive to Lake Marble Falls, Lake LBJ and the famed Texas Lake and Hill Country. Visit http://greggranch.com/ to learn more.