M/I Homes is advertising a first-year mortgage rate of 3.25% at Colony at Cole Springs and Willow Springs. The rate applies only to select homes, the buyer has to apply for the loan within 48 hours of signing, and the home has to close by December 31, 2026. Those conditions are what turn a marketing banner into a hard deadline. Right now that deadline is also the price every resale home in Buda gets compared against.

Buyers in Buda this fall are comparing two different ways of paying for a home. Builders are competing on the monthly payment and on the calendar, and the county median is too blunt a number to show either one.

The Fine Print Is Where the Competition Happens

The M/I offer is a temporary 2/1 buydown with up to 3% toward closing costs, and you have to finance through M/I Financial to get it. On the FHA example, the rate is 3.25% in year one, 4.25% in year two, and 5.25% for years three through thirty, with an APR of 5.955%. The conventional version runs 3.875%, 4.875%, then 5.875%. The FHA example assumes 3.5% down and a 640 minimum credit score. The conventional example assumes 20% down and a 720 minimum score.

Taylor Morrison's Austin-area quick move-in promotion has stricter terms. The buyer has to pre-apply with Taylor Morrison Home Funding before making an offer, finance through that lender, and close with a closing agent the seller picks. The buyer isn't required to use either one to buy the home, only to get the promotional rate.

These conditions affect how a deal comes together. A buyer who already has a pre-approval from a lender they trust may need a second application to get the builder's rate. A buyer who has to sell a current home first may not be able to hit a close-by date three or six weeks out. This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Before signing anything, confirm the loan terms and your eligibility with your own lender and the right professionals.

The Calendar Buda Buyers Are Working Against

Here is what builders in and around Buda advertised in mid-October. All of it is subject to change. Several deadlines land within days of this post going live on Thursday, October 29.

Builders are cutting sticker prices too. Taylor Morrison's Sunfield page lists a starting price of $289,490, down from $329,490. A Pulte home in Sunfield's Fox Hollow is listed at $390,043, reduced from $443,910, which Pulte advertises as $53,867 in savings. At M/I's Colony at Cole Springs, 609 Clarissa is listed at $334,990, 629 Clarissa at $339,990, and 771 Clarissa at $364,990. Each is $25,000 to $35,000 below its earlier price.

Look at which homes get the best deals. M/I's 3.25% first-year rate applies to homes that can close in 2026. Buyers who build from scratch get a long-term lock at 6.25%, and those homes have until May 28, 2027 to close. The cheapest money goes to homes that are already finished.

Why Finished Homes Carry the Deepest Discounts

A finished home that hasn't sold costs the builder money every month it sits. Writing in HousingWire in August 2026, a Texas land developer explained that unsold completed homes tie up a builder's capital. When buyer traffic slows, he wrote, builders have more reason to close one more sale with rate buydowns, help with closing costs, and discounts on finished inventory.

This is a national pattern. In the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index released September 16, 2026, 38% of builders reported cutting prices in September. The average cut held at 6%, and 66% used sales incentives, the highest share since December. The Pulte reduction in Sunfield works out to about 12% off the earlier price, roughly twice that national average.

Why the Buda Numbers Miss Most of It

The most recent county figures look contradictory. According to Unlock MLS's September 2026 Central Texas Housing Report, released October 13, Hays County closed 294 home sales in September, down 30.5% from a year earlier. Over the same month, the median sale price rose 10.8% to $399,900. My Neighborhood News, which reported the county numbers, pointed out that a countywide median reflects whichever homes happened to sell that month. A change in that mix can push the median up even when individual homes haven't gained value.

The rest of the September report points to a slower market. Hays County pending sales dipped just 1.8% to 323, new listings rose 12.4% to 498, and inventory reached 4.8 months. Homes closed at an average of 93.2% of their original list price. On a home first listed at $400,000, that's about $372,800.

The Buda numbers are even less complete. The Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M tracks a Buda local market area. In its data, active listings went from 92 in April 2026 to 162 in August, and months of inventory went from 3.23 to 4.93. In August 2026 the area recorded 38 sales, up 58% from a year earlier, at a median price of $332,500. That is a small monthly sample, and the area is defined by the local REALTOR association, not by city limits.

The center's methodology also leaves out new-home sales negotiated directly between builder and buyer outside the MLS. So the deals from the calendar above can close without ever appearing in the public Buda figures. Even when they do appear, the median only records the sale price. A closing-cost credit or a temporary buydown changes what the buyer pays each month and leaves the recorded price alone.

Vaike O'Grady, research advisor at Unlock MLS, described the buyer's side in comments reported by My Neighborhood News:

"The biggest factor for many buyers isn't necessarily the price of the home, but what that price means for their monthly payment at today's rates."

What a Buda Resale Home Is Really Priced Against

Put those numbers side by side. Buda's August median was $332,500. M/I's discounted Clarissa homes at Colony at Cole Springs run $334,990 to $364,990, and some come with a 3.25% first-year rate if they close in 2026. Taylor Morrison's advertised Sunfield starting price is lower than the Buda median. D.R. Horton lists quick move-ins at Prairie Lakes such as 177 Childress St. at $257,490 and 185 Childress St. at $268,990, both a few thousand dollars below earlier prices.

That means a resale home listed around the Buda median is competing with a brand-new house at about the same price, often with a lower payment for the first year or two. The buyer comparing them is comparing payments. Some of the new-home payments expire on October 31, some on November 8, and some on December 31.

This is how the county numbers fit together. Sellers closing at 93.2% of their original price, inventory rising since spring, and sales falling while the median climbs all describe a market where much of the discounting happens in loan terms and closing credits that sale-price statistics don't capture.

Questions to Bring to Any Buda Offer This Fall

1. What will the rate be in year three? Under M/I's FHA example, that's 5.25% for the rest of a 30-year loan, and that's the payment you'll live with long term.
2. Does the offer depend on the builder's affiliated lender or a closing agent the seller chooses, and what happens to the incentive if you finance somewhere else?
3. Can this particular home close by the builder's deadline, given your loan approval and any home you need to sell first?
4. On a resale home, how does the seller's concession compare in dollars with the builder's credit or rate buydown?
5. Is the advertised price reduction the same on the contract, or does it change once other incentives are added?

Short FAQ

Does a 2/1 buydown lock in the first-year rate for the whole loan? No. M/I's published terms list a temporary reduction for years one and two, then the full note rate for years three through thirty.

Will these offers still be available after November? The builders' pages say the terms can change or end at any time. The posted contract windows close between October 31 and November 8, 2026. DRB's Sunfield Flex Cash offer doesn't list an end date.

Why is Buda's median so far below the Hays County median? They measure different areas with different sample sizes. In August 2026, the Buda local market area recorded only 38 MLS sales, and new-home sales handled directly by builders aren't counted.

If you're weighing a Buda resale home against a builder's quick move-in with a buydown deadline, Maricruz Acuna and Flying Home Group can help you compare the true monthly cost of each before the deadline hits, in English or Spanish. Schedule your smooth landing.