7% Mortgage Rates in Las Vegas: Why a 2/1 Buydown Beats a Price Cut

Published: September 2026  ·  8 min read

If your Las Vegas home has been on the market for a few weeks and the showings have slowed down, you are not imagining it. Rates are hovering right around 7%, buyers are taking their time, and the first thing most sellers want to do is cut the price. Before you do that, I want you to see the math on a different option.

What Las Vegas Sellers Are Up Against Right Now

Freddie Mac's weekly survey had the average 30-year fixed rate at 6.95% on September 17, up from 6.26% a year ago, and the daily rate trackers pushed past 7% this week. That shows up in the local numbers. According to Las Vegas REALTORS®, August looked like this:

• The median single-family price was $475,000, down 1% from last August.
• The median condo and townhome price was $299,900, about flat.
• There were 7,590 single-family homes on the market without offers, up 5.3% from a year ago.
• We are sitting at a little over 4.5 months of supply.
• 74.8% of single-family homes sold within 60 days, down from 77.5% last year. So about one in four is sitting longer than two months.

Prices are holding up pretty well. What changed is that buyers have choices again and they are shopping the monthly payment, not the list price. That distinction matters a lot when you decide how to respond.

Why a Price Cut Barely Moves the Payment at 7%

Here is the problem with a price reduction. Buyers see the list price, but they live with the payment. When you take $10,000 off a $475,000 home and the buyer is putting 10% down, you shrink their loan by $9,000. At 7%, that lowers the principal and interest payment by about $60 a month.

Sixty dollars. That is not what gets a buyer off the fence (and it certainly does not get them to pick your house over the one down the street).

How a 2/1 Rate Buydown Works

With a 2/1 buydown, you as the seller pay a lump sum at closing that goes into an account with the lender. That money subsidizes the buyer's payment for the first two years:

1. Year one: the buyer pays as if the rate were 2 points lower (5% on a 7% loan).
2. Year two: the buyer pays as if the rate were 1 point lower (6%).
3. Year three and beyond: the buyer pays the full note rate (7%).

The cost of the buydown is simply the difference between the full payment and the reduced payments over those 24 months. At the Las Vegas median, that works out to almost exactly the same $10,000 we just talked about taking off the price.

The Math at the Las Vegas Median Price

Assumptions: $475,000 purchase price, 10% down ($427,500 loan), 30-year fixed at 7%. Payments below are principal and interest only. Taxes, insurance, HOA and mortgage insurance would be added on top in real life.

Same money out of the seller's pocket. The buydown saves the buyer $549 a month in year one and $281 a month in year two, about $9,964 total. The price cut saves $60 a month. At $60 a month, it would take the buyer almost 14 years to save what the buydown saves them in two.

Want to know what it would take to get that same year-one payment with a price cut alone? The price would have to drop to about $383,000. That is a $92,000 reduction. No seller I know wants to have that conversation.

The Fine Print

A buydown is not magic, and there are a few things you and the buyer should know going in.

• The buyer still qualifies at the full rate. Lenders generally underwrite a temporary buydown at the 7% note rate, so it helps with cash flow, not with qualifying for a bigger loan.
• Concession limits apply. On a conventional loan with 10% down, seller concessions are generally capped at 6% of the price, and the buydown counts toward that cap along with any closing cost credit.
• If the buyer refinances early, the unused buydown money is typically credited toward the loan payoff, so it is not wasted. Confirm the details with the buyer's lender.
• The payment does go up in year three. Buyers need to plan for the full payment. If rates drop in the meantime, a refinance may make that step-up a non-issue, but nobody should buy counting on it.
• Investment property loans are different. Temporary buydowns are generally limited to primary residences and second homes, and conventional investment loans cap concessions at 2%.

Why This Market Is an Opportunity for Buyers

Everything that makes this market hard for sellers is working in a buyer's favor. You have more homes to choose from than you have had in years, you have time to think, and sellers are much more open to negotiating on terms. A year or two ago, asking for a seller-paid buydown on top of a full-price offer would have gotten you laughed out of a multiple-offer situation. Today it is a reasonable ask on a lot of listings, especially the ones that have been sitting past 30 days.

My advice to buyers is to shop the payment you are comfortable with at the full 7% rate, then use the buydown as a cushion for the first two years instead of a reason to stretch. Run your own numbers on our mortgage calculator before you start touring.

Opportunities for Investors and Cash Buyers

About 22% of Las Vegas purchases in August were cash deals. If you are one of those buyers, a 7% rate environment is about as good as it gets for negotiating.

• You are competing with fewer buyers. Financed buyers are pulling back or shopping lower price points. Your offer can win on certainty and speed even when it is under list.
• Stale listings are your best targets. With roughly one in four single-family homes taking longer than 60 days, there is a real pool of sellers who are ready to talk. I look at days on market and price history before anything else.
• Condos and townhomes deserve a look. At a $299,900 median, they are the entry point for rental investors. Pay close attention to HOA dues, reserves and any rental restrictions before you write an offer.
• You can finance later. Buying with cash now and placing a loan on the property later (after a rate drop, or once you have a lease in place) is a common strategy. Talk to your lender and your CPA about the timing before you close.
• Run the rental numbers honestly. Rent comps, vacancy, repairs, HOA, insurance and management fees all need to be in the model before you decide a deal works. This is exactly what we do every day on the property management side of our business.

Financed investors should remember the fine print above. Since a seller-paid temporary buydown generally is not available on an investment property loan, your leverage is price and closing cost credits (within the 2% limit), not a buydown.

Should You Pull Your Listing Until After the Midterms or the New Year?

I have been getting this question a lot lately. The midterm elections are November 3, the holidays come right after that, and some sellers would rather take the house off the market and try again in January. There are real arguments on both sides.

The case for pulling it

• A fresh start. When a listing comes back after some time off, it shows up as new to buyers who set up alerts, and it sheds some of the "what's wrong with it?" stigma that comes with high days on market.
• Time to fix what did not work. If the photos were weak, the price was ambitious or the house needed work, a break gives you time to fix it properly.
• No showings during the holidays. If you are hosting family or traveling, keeping the house show-ready in December is a hassle.
• A new rate picture. Rates could be lower after the new year. They could also be higher. Nobody knows.

The case for staying on the market

• Your history does not disappear. Zillow, Redfin and the MLS all show prior listing dates and price changes. Depending on how long you are off, the MLS may not fully reset cumulative days on market either. Buyer agents will see it.
• Fall and winter buyers are serious buyers. Nobody tours homes the week after Thanksgiving for fun. Here in Las Vegas the weather is great, relocations from California keep coming, and you have far fewer sellers competing for those buyers.
• Spring brings more competition. Inventory is already up about 5% from last year, and every seller who waited for January will list at the same time you do.
• Carrying costs keep running. Mortgage, HOA, utilities and insurance do not stop because the house is off the market.
• Elections do not change what your house is worth. In my experience, the couple of weeks right around an election get a little quieter and then buyers come right back. Waiting is really a bet on interest rates, and that is a hard bet to win.

My take

For most sellers, I would rather fix the listing than pull it. Adjust the price if the comps say you are high, freshen the photos if they need it, and add a seller-paid buydown so your home stands out on the metric buyers actually care about. If you do need to take the house off the market (and sometimes there are good personal reasons to), use the time to fix whatever held it back. Coming back in January with the same house at the same price rarely changes the result.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a 2/1 buydown?

A temporary rate reduction paid for up front, usually by the seller. The buyer's rate is 2 points lower in year one and 1 point lower in year two, then returns to the full note rate for the rest of the loan.

How much does a 2/1 buydown cost on a median priced Las Vegas home?

At $475,000 with 10% down and a 7% rate, about $9,964. It lowers the principal and interest payment by about $549 a month in year one and $281 a month in year two.

Is a 2/1 buydown better than a price reduction?

For payment relief in the first two years, yes, by a wide margin. A price cut is permanent and lowers the loan balance slightly, so a buyer planning to keep the loan for 15 or more years without refinancing might prefer it. Most buyers do not keep a 7% loan that long.

Should I take my Las Vegas home off the market until after the election?

Usually not. Most sellers do better fixing price, condition or terms while the home stays active. See the pros and cons above, and give me a call if you want to talk through your specific situation.