09/24/2026
🏡 Does a $12,000 seller concession on a $400,000 house in Casa Grande buy your rate down? Mostly, no. Most of it pays your closing costs first, and that's usually the right call.
Here's what it looks like on an FHA loan with 3.5% down. Closing costs, prepaid insurance and the escrow setup run about $9,000 on a purchase that size, based on a real Casa Grande FHA lender worksheet from August. That leaves roughly $3,000 of the $12,000 for the rate. One discount point costs 1% of the loan, $3,860 here, so $3,000 buys about three quarters of a point. With the 30-year at 7.03%, the Freddie Mac national average this week, that trims the payment about $49 a month.
📊 Now take the same $12,000 off the price instead, with no concession. The payment drops about $77 a month. But you're paying your own closing costs now, so you bring about $22,400 to closing instead of about $14,000. That's roughly $8,400 more cash to save $28 a month.
That's why concessions show up on most deals here. I pulled 31 closed sales in Casa Grande between $325,000 and $460,000 from March through early September. 26 of them had a seller concession. The median was $10,250, most landed between 2.5% and 3% of the price, and only 3 went past 3%.
🔑 So the real question isn't rate or price. It's how much is left after your closing costs are paid. On that leftover money, points win. $3,000 toward the rate lowers the payment about $49 a month. The same $3,000 off the price lowers it about $19.
FHA lets a seller contribute up to 6% of the price, $24,000 on this house. At that level about $15,000 is left after closing costs, enough for close to four points and about $246 off the monthly payment. Sellers here haven't gone that high often, but the room is there, and it's the only place a buydown gets big.
What a point actually buys changes by lender and by day, so have a licensed lender quote it both ways before you write the offer. Finding the sellers in Pinal County who've sat long enough to go past 3% is my job as a Realtor in Casa Grande.
💬 Comment RATE and I'll run this on your price range. No pitch, no signup.
Josh Bernal, REALTOR®
Yost Realty Group at RE/MAX Casa Grande
📞 (480) 773-4489
🌐 www.joshbernalrealtor.com
🌐 joshbernal.yosthomes.com
🌐 www.yosthomes.com
AZ Lic. SA658510000
🏠 Equal Housing Opportunity. Sources: ARMLS, 31 closed Casa Grande sales, 2,400 to 3,600 sq ft, $325,000 to $460,000, closed March 10 to September 4, 2026, read September 5, 2026. Closing cost estimate based on an FHA lender cost worksheet for a Casa Grande purchase, August 2026, excluding discount points. Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed national average 7.03%, as of September 24, 2026. CFPB, discount points, April 5, 2024. HUD Handbook 4000.1, interested party contributions. Example: $400,000 purchase, FHA 3.5% down, $386,000 base loan, one point assumed at 0.25%, principal and interest only, mortgage insurance not included. General market info only, not a rate quote or an offer to lend. Your rate depends on your situation, so check with a licensed lender. Information believed accurate but not guaranteed. Not an appraisal or valuation of any specific property.
