How 2-1 Buydowns Make Buying a Home More Affordable

By John Lyons

John Lyons, a distinguished broker associate at Baird & Warner, has carved a niche in the Chicago real estate market with his comprehensive, client-first approach. With over $130 million in career sales, Lyons has a proven track record in assisting a diverse range of clients, including luxury home buyers, first-time buyers, sellers looking to move up, and investors.

In this housing market, there’s one thing on everyone’s minds: affordability. Ever since interest rates increased, purchasing a home has become much more expensive for most buyers. To make things even worse, we haven’t seen a massive price correction like some experts predicted. In an environment with high home prices and interest rates, what can people do to achieve their dreams of buying a home? 

Fortunately, there’s a lending product that can counteract high interest rates: 2-1 buydowns. Let’s go over what this product is, how it works, and how it can help you get into your dream home:

1. How 2-1 buydowns work. A 2-1 buydown works by putting money upfront to lower your mortgage interest rate for the first two years of your loan. The first year, your rate will be 2% lower; the year after that, it will be 1% lower. Then, it will return to normal. This is a fantastic way to ease into your mortgage payment and lower the upfront cost of your loan. If you need to sell, they are also a great concession to offer to your buyers. 

2. You can get your seller to pay the upfront cost. Good buyers are hard to find in this housing market due to higher rates. Many sellers are willing to offer concessions to ensure they don’t have to lower their asking price, especially if you have a good agent negotiating for you. This means you can have your seller pay the upfront cost of your 2-1 buydown, and you can sit back and enjoy the discount.

3. You can refinance when rates come back down. While we probably won’t see rates as low as 3% or 4% again for a long time, most experts agree that interest rates are likely to come down within the next year or two. This timeline fits perfectly with a 2-1 buydown! You can enjoy the benefits and simply refinance to a lower interest rate when your buydown is set to expire. 

The bottom line is that 2-1 buydowns are the best way to purchase a home in this market. If you need to sell, they also make a fantastic incentive to offer to your buyers and keep your listing price high. It’s a win-win situation!

I have plenty of experience negotiating 2-1 buydowns for my clients, so if you have any questions or are interested in buying or selling a home, please call or email me. I am always willing to help!