Yes, but in my experience rarely on the base price. Every sale in a community becomes the comp for the next one, so builders protect the sticker and give instead: closing-cost credits through their lender, upgrade or design-center credits, a reduced lot premium, or a finished feature thrown in. The homes with the most room are the ones already built and sitting.
12 questions to ask the sales rep, eight builder-contract red flags, and a pre-drywall checklist you can print and take to the site.
I'm Wes Johnston, a Realtor with Trueblood Real Estate in Fishers. Before real estate I spent about ten years designing homes and managing their construction for a custom builder in Hamilton County. I drew the blueprints and ran the jobs, so I know what goes on behind the drywall and what to check before it's covered up.
People hear "the price is the price" from a sales rep and stop negotiating. The price is the price. Almost everything else is on the table, and the rep has a list of what they're allowed to give. My job is to find the bottom of that list.
Because the next buyer on the same street will see it. Builders sell the same floor plan over and over in a community, and a price cut on lot 41 is a problem on lots 42 through 80, with the appraisers, and with the neighbors who closed last month. Incentives don't show up on the recorded sale price the same way, so that's where builders put their flexibility.
What's available changes by builder, community and month. Ask what the current incentive is, then ask what else they can do. Those are two different questions.
Standing inventory. A quick move-in home that's finished is costing the builder money every day it sits, so it's where credits get biggest. In my experience the end of a builder's quarter or fiscal year is when reps have the most flexibility, because they have numbers to hit. A to-be-built home on a fresh lot has the least room; the builder hasn't spent anything yet. Read what a quick move-in home is and filter my search for move-in ready homes.
The credit is real, but it's conditioned on using their lender, and that lender's rate and fees may not be the best you can get. Compare the whole offer: the builder-lender rate, fees and credit against an outside lender's rate and fees with no credit. Sometimes the builder's deal wins by a lot. Sometimes a lower outside rate is worth more over the years than the credit at closing. Get a pre-approval from an outside lender before you ask, so the comparison is real. A builder's affiliated lender has to give you a written affiliated business arrangement disclosure, and you're free to shop.
Sometimes, more often as a credit than a discount on the design-center price list. The bigger savings is choosing well: do what's inside the walls during the build and leave the cosmetic items for after closing, where you can shop. I cover which is which on the new construction vs. resale page. And get the full option price list before you sign the purchase agreement, not at the design appointment.
Everything goes in the contract or a signed addendum: the credit amount, what it's conditioned on, the included features by name, the lot premium, and the dates. A verbal promise from a rep who may not be there in six months isn't worth much. I've been on the construction side of these deals for ten years and the sales side since, and the paper is what gets honored.
More new construction answers: What Are the Closing Costs on New Construction in Indiana?, What Is a Quick Move-In Home? Spec, Inventory and To-Be-Built, Explained, Do I Need a Realtor to Buy New Construction in Indiana?, The New Construction Playbook (free). Everything I've written on buying new is on the Resources page, and every builder's available homes are on New Home Builds.
Send me the address or community. I'll find out what the builder is currently offering, what they've done on recent sales, and where the room is before you talk numbers.
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This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Builder incentives change by builder, community and date; confirm current terms in writing before you sign.