Seller concessions: What are they and how do they work?

Written by Samantha SheltonNMLS 1647301Updated November 2026

This article is general information about how seller concessions work, not legal or tax advice. Loan program limits, contract language and tax treatment depend on your transaction, your buyer’s loan and your county. Consult a Michigan real estate attorney and a qualified tax professional.

A seller concession is money the seller agrees to pay toward the buyer’s loan and closing costs, written into the purchase contract and settled on the closing statement rather than paid out of pocket. There is no single limit. Conventional loans cap seller and other interested-party contributions at 3%, 6% or 9% of value depending on occupancy and loan-to-value, FHA and USDA cap them at 6% of the sales price, VA caps concessions at 4% of the home’s reasonable value, and a conventional investment-property loan allows only 2%.

Seller concessions are ordinary, not exotic: Redfin reported that sellers gave concessions in 46.2% of U.S. home sales in the three months ending May 31, 2026, up from 43.1% a year earlier and the highest May share in records that begin in 2019.

Learn what counts as a concession, the forms it takes, and the caps by loan type. For the asking, countering and capping, see how to negotiate seller concessions, our Selling a Home guide and the Selling Strategies hub.

Key takeaways:

• There is one cap per loan program, not one cap for everything: conventional allows 3% of value above 90% loan-to-value, 6% from 75.01% to 90% and 9% at 75% or less, with 2% on investment property; FHA and USDA allow 6% of the sales price and VA allows 4% of reasonable value.
• A concession cannot touch the down payment: Fannie Mae bars interested-party contributions from funding the down payment, reserves or the minimum borrower contribution, and FHA bars them from satisfying the buyer’s 3.5% minimum required investment.
• The same dollars buy far more payment relief as a buydown than as a price cut: on a $300,000 sale with 5% down, a 2-1 buydown costing $6,486 lowers the buyer’s first-year payment by $357 a month, while taking that same $6,486 off the price lowers it by about $39.

What is a seller concession?

A seller concession is a seller-paid credit toward costs the buyer would otherwise pay, agreed in the contract and applied at closing. Lenders rarely call it that. In underwriting language it is an interested party contribution, and FHA defines interested parties as sellers, real estate agents, builders, developers, lenders and third-party originators.

• You never write a check: The credit is a debit on your side of the settlement statement. A $9,000 concession cuts your net proceeds by $9,000 and takes no cash from your pocket at the table. Model it inside the finances of selling and your other seller’s closing costs.
• The contract price does not change: The recorded price stays where you negotiated it and the credit appears separately, which is why seller-paid closing costs and a price reduction are not the same instrument.

One tax note, in outline only: the IRS treats loan charges and points a seller pays that would normally be the buyer’s as selling expenses, which reduce the amount realized on your sale.¹ Have a tax professional apply that to your closing statement.

What forms do seller concessions take?

Concessions land in a few standard buckets, and the bucket matters because programs count each one differently. Fannie Mae accepts contributions toward borrower closing costs including prepaids, and toward HOA assessments covering no more than 12 months after settlement.

• Closing-cost credits: The default form, origination, appraisal, credit report, title work, settlement fees. The CFPB’s breakdown of buyer closing costs shows which lines a credit can reach; see also what closing costs cover.
• Prepaid items and escrow funding: Property taxes, homeowners insurance and the initial deposit into the buyer’s mortgage escrow account.
• Discount points: A credit applied to points that lowers the buyer’s note rate for the life of the loan.
• Temporary rate buydowns: Funds escrowed to cut the payment for one to three years. Fannie Mae caps the buydown period at three years with increases of no more than one percentage point a year, and requires the lender to qualify the borrower at the note rate. See mortgage rate buydowns.
• Program-specific charges: The FHA upfront mortgage insurance premium and the VA funding fee can each be covered by a credit, and each counts inside its program’s cap.

Where repair credits fit, and where they do not

A repair credit is the one form that behaves differently by program. FHA lists repair allowances among inducements to purchase, deducted dollar-for-dollar from the price before the loan-to-value percentage is applied.² USDA excludes seller-provided repair funds from its limit entirely. On an FHA offer, completing the repair before closing protects the buyer’s loan amount in a way a cash allowance does not.

How much can a seller contribute? Concession caps by loan type

The ceiling belongs to the buyer’s loan program, and on conventional loans it moves with the buyer’s down payment. Conventional limits are calculated using the lower of the sales price or the appraised value, not the loan amount.

Because Align is a broker rather than one lender, we price the same file against conventional, FHA, VA and USDA guidelines, so a counteroffer can be sized to the cap that actually applies. Three details matter most.

• Conventional swings by 6 percentage points: A buyer at 95% loan-to-value gets a 3% ceiling, $9,000 on a $300,000 home. A buyer putting 25% down gets 9%, or $27,000. Same house, triple the room, because the limit tracks loan-to-value.
• FHA counts more items inside its 6%: The limit covers origination fees, other closing costs, prepaid items and discount points, and also absorbs permanent and temporary rate buydowns, prepaid mortgage interest, payment protection insurance and the upfront mortgage insurance premium.³ A 6% headline holding that much is often tighter than a conventional 6%. See HUD’s FHA program materials.
• VA has the narrowest definition: VA does not limit a seller’s credit toward the buyer’s actual closing costs at all. What it caps at 4% of reasonable value is concessions, anything of value added at no cost to the buyer, such as paying the VA funding fee, prepaying hazard insurance, paying off the buyer’s debt, or funding a buydown.⁴ Keep the two buckets separate; see how to qualify for a VA loan.

Size the credit against real cost data. The CFPB reported median total loan costs of $6,684 on home purchase loans in 2023, up 12.3% from $5,954 in 2022, with FHA highest at a median $11,368 and VA at $7,530, buyer-paid loan costs only, so prepaids sit on top. See how to budget for closing costs.

What sits outside the caps

Costs a seller customarily pays under local law or custom fall outside the limits, which is why your side of the settlement statement can look larger than any cap suggests. Fannie Mae excludes common and customary seller-paid fees, and in an April 15, 2024 Selling Notice confirmed that a seller paying the buyer’s agent commission per local custom does not have it counted toward the IPC limit. FHA takes the same position, and USDA excludes seller-funded repairs and the buyer’s commission fees from its 6%.

Commission itself is fully negotiable and always has been; there is no standard or customary rate. Since August 17, 2024, offers of buyer-agent compensation cannot be communicated through an MLS, and MLS-participant buyer agents must have a written agreement with their buyer before touring a home. Compensation can still be offered off-MLS or as a concession. See the benefits of working with a seller’s agent.

Where does a seller concession show up on the buyer’s Closing Disclosure?

The agreed credit becomes a number both sides can check on the buyer’s Closing Disclosure. According to the CFPB’s Closing Disclosure explainer, a general Seller Credit on page 3 is the amount the seller has agreed to contribute to the buyer’s closing costs, and when a seller agrees to pay specific costs instead, those amounts may be listed as “Seller Paid” line items on page 2.

Federal timing gives everyone a window to catch a mismatch. Under Regulation Z, 12 CFR 1026.19(f)(1)(ii)(A) requires the creditor to make sure the buyer receives the Closing Disclosure no later than three business days before consummation.

• A lump-sum credit: Check that the single Seller Credit figure matches the signed purchase agreement and every signed amendment, not an earlier draft of the offer.
• Itemized seller-paid costs: Add up the “Seller Paid” entries on page 2 and confirm the total stays inside the dollar amount you agreed to.
• A seller-funded buydown: Fannie Mae’s temporary buydown rules require a written agreement between the party providing the buydown funds and the borrower, so those funds need their own signed agreement, not only a line in the purchase contract.

What happens if a concession goes over the cap?

The excess is not waived, it comes off the price and the loan shrinks. Fannie Mae treats financing concessions above the limit as sales concessions, which must be deducted from the sales price with loan-to-value ratios recalculated on the reduced figure. FHA reaches the same result differently: contributions above 6%, and contributions exceeding the buyer’s actual origination fees, closing costs, prepaids and discount points, are inducements to purchase that cut the price dollar-for-dollar when computing adjusted value.

On a $300,000 sale to a buyer at 95% loan-to-value, a $15,000 credit is $6,000 past the 3% ceiling. The lender treats the price as $294,000, resizes the loan, and the buyer arrives at closing needing cash nobody planned for. Sizing the credit to the buyer’s program before you sign avoids it.

FHA also lists decorating allowances, moving costs, excess rent credits, paying off consumer debt and personal property among inducements. A seller throwing in the furniture is offering a price reduction whether the contract says so or not. Appraisers must separately adjust comparable sales for concessions, so a large credit travels into the next appraisal that uses your home as a comp. See the home appraisal process.

How does an appraiser treat a concession on a comparable sale?

An appraiser cannot simply subtract the credit. Fannie Mae’s Selling Guide section on adjustments to comparable sales (topic dated 06/04/2025) sets three limits on how a concession in a past sale is handled:

• Downward only: Positive adjustments for sales or financing concessions are not acceptable, so a comparable sale that carried a credit can only be adjusted down.
• Market reaction, not seller cost: Adjustments based on dollar-for-dollar deductions equal to the cost of the concessions to the seller are not acceptable.
• Full dollar only when supported: A dollar-for-dollar adjustment is acceptable when the appraiser’s analysis finds that the market’s reaction is the full amount of the financing concession.

A credit also cannot rescue a low appraisal on your own sale. Fannie Mae measures a purchase loan’s loan-to-value ratio against the lower of the sales price or the current appraised value, and a concession cannot fund the down payment, so a gap between price and appraisal is closed with buyer cash, a price change or a successful reconsideration of value. Interagency guidance announced by the Federal Reserve Board on July 18, 2024 describes a reconsideration of value as a request from a financial institution to an appraiser or other preparer of a valuation report to reassess the value of residential real estate, so the request goes through the buyer’s lender, not straight from the seller to the appraiser. See how to sell a home with a low appraisal.

VA buyers face the same wall. The VA Home Loan Buyer’s Guide lists renegotiating the sale price to the appraised value or lower as one option after a low appraisal, and says that if the appraised value is still less than the sales price after a Reconsideration of Value and renegotiation, bringing cash to closing is the only option.

What can a seller concession not pay for?

It cannot fund the buyer’s down payment on any major program. Fannie Mae does not permit interested-party contributions to make the down payment, meet reserve requirements or meet minimum borrower contribution requirements, and FHA does not permit them to satisfy the minimum required investment of at least 3.5% of adjusted value.

• Down payment: Must come from the buyer’s own funds, a documented gift, or an approved program. A buyer short there needs down payment assistance, not a bigger credit.
• Cash back at closing: A credit cannot exceed the buyer’s actual costs. Surplus is trimmed; the buyer does not pocket the difference.
• Reserves: Post-closing reserve requirements stay the buyer’s to satisfy.

So an offer asking for a credit “toward down payment and closing costs” needs rewriting before anyone signs. Weigh the package with negotiating offers as a seller.

How far does a seller credit go when it buys discount points?

A point is priced off the loan, not the house. The CFPB’s explainer on discount points and lender credits (last reviewed October 19, 2023) says one point equals one percent of the loan amount, and that points lower the interest rate in exchange for paying more at closing.

Points are a common buyer cost. The CFPB reported on December 13, 2024 that more than 56% of single-family loan originations paid some discount points in 2023, and that the median discount points paid on home purchase loans was about $3,000.

For example, on the $285,000 loan used in the buydown comparison below, one point costs $2,850, so a $9,000 credit, the 3% conventional ceiling on that $300,000 sale at 95% loan-to-value, would cover a little over three points if it paid for nothing else. Hypothetical example, not an offer.

To weigh points against a lender credit with a buyer’s actual Loan Estimate figures, use the points vs. lender credit calculator.

Is a rate buydown better than a price reduction?

For a buyer whose obstacle is the monthly payment, yes, and the gap is not close. Take a $300,000 Michigan sale with 5% down, a $285,000 loan, a 30-year fixed term and a hypothetical 6.5% note rate used purely for illustration.⁵ Principal and interest run $1,801 a month.

• As a 2-1 buydown, $6,486 cuts the first-year payment by $357: Year one bills at 4.5% ($1,444), year two at 5.5% ($1,618), and year three onward at the full 6.5%. That $6,486 is about 2.2% of the $300,000 price, the figure the cap is measured against, comfortably inside the 3% conventional ceiling that applies at 95% loan-to-value.
• As a price cut, the same $6,486 saves about $39 a month: A $293,514 price with 5% down produces a $278,838 loan and a $1,762 payment, roughly one-ninth of the first-year relief, for identical money out of your proceeds.

Hypothetical example, not an offer. Actual rates, costs and payments vary.

Say the honest part too. The buyer must still qualify at the full note rate under both Fannie Mae and VA rules, so a buydown is payment relief, not qualification relief, and it expires. A price reduction is permanent. Which wins depends on whether the buyer’s problem is the monthly number or the total cost.

Does a concession change what the seller owes in tax?

Two more IRS points finish the tax note above. Per IRS Topic 701 (page last reviewed October 12, 2026), a seller may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of gain from income, or $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, and Publication 523 (2025) sets the ownership test at owning the home for at least 24 months (2 years) out of the last 5 years. For a seller who qualifies and whose gain stays under the exclusion, a concession lowers the gain on paper without changing the tax owed.

Reporting is a separate question. Topic 701 says a seller who receives an informational income-reporting document such as Form 1099-S reports the sale even when the gain is excludable. See capital gains tax exemptions, and have a tax professional apply both points to your closing statement.

What Michigan sellers should know

In Michigan a concession stacks on top of a transfer tax that statute puts on you. The state charges $3.75 per $500 of value and the county adds $0.55 per $500 in every county under 2,000,000 in population, every county in the state, for $8.60 per $1,000, or $2,580 on a $300,000 sale.

• Budget the stack, not the line: $2,580 in transfer tax plus a $9,000 concession on that $300,000 sale is $11,580 off the top before commission. Run the whole column, then price your next purchase or bridge financing against what is left.
• Check the state transfer tax exemption: Michigan exempts the state portion when the seller claimed the principal residence exemption and the property’s state equalized value at sale is equal to or less than its SEV at acquisition, in an arm’s-length sale. If it was paid anyway, request a refund on Michigan Treasury Form 2796 within four years and 15 days of the transfer.
• A concession does not soften disclosure: The Michigan Seller Disclosure Act requires a good-faith written statement of known conditions on transfers of one to four residential dwelling units, and pre-1978 homes carry federal lead-paint duties regardless. See how to handle seller disclosures.

Take contract language and transfer-tax questions to a Michigan real estate attorney.

How much room do buyers have to ask for a concession in 2026?

More than a year ago, by national measures. The National Association of REALTORS® reported in its September 2026 REALTORS® Confidence Index survey that 16% of homes sold above list price, down from 21% a year earlier. A buyer who is not bidding over the price is more likely to ask for help with costs, and a seller who wants to hold the price can often meet that request with a credit instead of a price cut.

The market sets how often buyers ask. It does not set how much they can receive: that ceiling still comes from the buyer’s loan program, as the table above shows. For inventory, days on market and price trends, see what a buyer’s market is and what the 2026 market means for a seller.

Can the buyer pay Michigan transfer tax for the seller?

Yes, by agreement, though the law still names the seller. The Michigan Department of Treasury’s State Real Estate Transfer Tax page says the seller (grantor) is legally responsible for the tax, that it is paid through the county when the deed is recorded, and that some buyers and sellers agree the buyer will pay on the seller’s behalf. That is a concession running the other way, and it belongs in the same written terms as any seller credit. The Newaygo County Register of Deeds states both rates per $500.00 or fraction thereof, so a price that crosses into a new $500 step adds a full step of tax to whoever agreed to pay it.

Put any credit or tax split agreed after acceptance into a signed amendment to the purchase agreement, not a text or a call; Michigan’s statute of frauds, MCL 566.108, requires a land-sale agreement to be written and signed by the seller, and the closing agent can only put on the Closing Disclosure the amounts the signed terms support.

Work through your own sale price in the Michigan transfer tax calculator; the exemption rules are in the Michigan section above.

FAQ: Seller concessions

Here are answers to common questions about seller concessions.

How much can a seller contribute in concessions?

It depends on the buyer’s loan. Conventional loans on a principal residence or second home allow 3% of value above 90% loan-to-value, 6% from 75.01% to 90%, and 9% at 75% or less; investment-property loans allow 2%. FHA and USDA allow 6% of the sales price, and VA allows 4% of reasonable value on top of customary closing costs. Ask which program the buyer is using before you counter.

Can seller concessions cover the buyer’s down payment?

No. Fannie Mae prohibits interested-party contributions from funding the down payment, reserves or the minimum borrower contribution, and FHA prohibits them from satisfying the buyer’s 3.5% minimum required investment. Concessions can pay closing costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, escrow funding, discount points and rate buydowns. A buyer short on down payment needs gift funds or an assistance program, see first-time home buyer programs.

Do seller concessions reduce the sale price?

Not on paper, unless they exceed the cap. The contract price stands and the credit appears separately on the closing statement, reducing your net proceeds. Contributions above the program limit become sales concessions or inducements to purchase and are deducted from the price before the loan is sized. See mortgage closing costs explained.

Is a rate buydown better than a price cut?

Often, for a payment-constrained buyer. On a $300,000 sale with 5% down and a hypothetical 6.5% note rate, a 2-1 buydown costing $6,486 cuts the first-year payment by $357 a month, while the same money as a price reduction saves about $39. The trade-off: the buydown expires after two years and the buyer still qualifies at the full note rate. See mortgage rate buydowns.

Hypothetical example, not an offer. Actual rates, costs and payments vary.

Can the buyer deduct points the seller paid?

Often, yes. IRS Publication 936 (2025) treats points the seller pays, including loan placement fees paid to the lender to arrange the buyer’s financing, as paid by the buyer, and a buyer who meets all of its tests can deduct them in the year paid. The buyer then reduces the home’s basis by the amount of the seller-paid points. A tax professional can confirm whether the tests are met.

What happens if a seller contributes more than 6% on a USDA loan?

USDA will not guarantee the loan, unless the Agency provides otherwise. The federal rule at 7 CFR 3555.102(h) lists a home purchase where the seller or another interested third party contributes more than 6 percent of the property’s sales price among the loans it will not guarantee. Without the guarantee it cannot close as a USDA guaranteed loan, so size the credit before the offer is signed; see USDA loan basics.

How long does a Michigan transfer tax refund take?

Michigan Treasury asks sellers to allow 6 to 8 weeks after submitting Form 2796 before calling to check its status, according to its State Real Estate Transfer Tax page. The form is the route for a seller whose sale qualified for the principal residence exemption but who paid the state portion of the tax at closing anyway, so plan the refund as cash that arrives after the move.

Is a lender credit the same as a seller concession?

No. Per the CFPB’s explainer on discount points and lender credits, lender credits lower closing costs up front in exchange for a higher interest rate, so the buyer pays for them through the rate. A seller concession comes out of the seller’s sale proceeds instead and leaves the buyer’s rate where it is, unless the credit is used to buy points or a buydown.

The bottom line on seller concessions

A seller concession is money you agree to pay toward the buyer’s loan and closing costs, settled out of your proceeds rather than your pocket, and its ceiling belongs to the buyer’s loan program rather than to your contract. Conventional caps run 3%, 6% or 9% of value by occupancy and loan-to-value, with 2% on investment property; FHA and USDA cap at 6% of the sales price; VA caps concessions at 4% of reasonable value and does not count customary closing costs at all. Write the credit above the cap and the excess comes off the price. Write it to the right cap and it can be the cheapest way to close a deal.

If you’re ready to see whether a buydown or a price reduction gets your buyer to the table for less, talk to Align Lending. We’ll shop the scenario across our lender network and show you both structures side by side. Call 248-506-5727 or start online. Take contract and transfer-tax questions to a Michigan real estate attorney, and tax questions to a qualified tax professional.

Footnotes:

1. This is general information, not tax advice. Whether a seller-paid cost is a deductible selling expense, how it affects your amount realized, and how a buyer must adjust basis for seller-paid points depend on your individual circumstances. Consult a qualified tax professional about your situation. Return to text.

2. Align Lending is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of FHA or HUD. The treatment of repair allowances as inducements to purchase, and the calculation of adjusted value, are set by HUD and are subject to change. Return to text.

3. Align Lending is not acting on behalf of or at the direction of FHA or HUD. FHA interested-party contribution limits, the items counted inside them, and the exceptions to them are set by HUD and are subject to change. Return to text.

4. Align Lending works with VA-approved lenders and is not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs or any government agency. VA seller-concession limits and reasonable-value determinations are set by the Department of Veterans Affairs and are subject to change. Return to text.

5. Hypothetical example, not an offer. The buydown comparison assumes a $300,000 purchase price, a $285,000 loan (95% loan-to-value), a 30-year fixed loan and a 6.5% note rate, chosen only to show how a 2-1 temporary buydown compares with a price reduction of the same dollar amount. Payments shown are principal and interest only and exclude taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance and fees. Return to text.

Sources: maximum financing concessions of 3% for a principal residence or second home above 90% LTV/CLTV, 6% at 75.01% to 90%, and 9% at 75% or less, 2% for investment property at all CLTV ratios; calculation using the lower of the sales price or appraised value rather than the loan amount; the prohibition on using interested party contributions for the down payment, financial reserves or minimum borrower contribution; the treatment of financing concessions above the limits as sales concessions that must be deducted from the sales price with LTV/CLTV recalculated; acceptance of contributions toward borrower closing costs including prepaids and toward up to 12 months of HOA assessments after settlement; and the exclusion of common and customary seller-paid fees, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B3-4.1-02, Interested Party Contributions (IPCs), effective 05/07/2025. Confirmation that seller or seller’s-agent payment of the buyer’s real estate agent commission in accordance with local common and customary practice is not counted toward IPC limits, Fannie Mae Selling Notice, Real Estate Commissions and Interested Party Contributions, April 15, 2024. Temporary buydown period of not more than three years, annual increases of not more than one percentage point, application of interested-party contribution limits when an interested party funds the buydown, and the requirement to qualify the borrower at the note rate without consideration of the bought-down rate, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B2-1.4-04, Temporary Interest Rate Buydowns. Requirement that comparable sales be adjusted for sales and financing concessions to reflect the market’s reaction, the acceptability of dollar-for-dollar negative adjustments, and the prohibition on positive adjustments, Fannie Mae Selling Guide B4-1.3-09, Adjustments to Comparable Sales. Definition of interested parties as sellers, real estate agents, builders, developers, mortgagees and third-party originators; the 6 percent of sales price limit toward origination fees, other closing costs, prepaid items and discount points; inclusion of permanent and temporary interest rate buydowns, payments of mortgage interest on fixed-rate mortgages, mortgage payment protection insurance and the upfront mortgage insurance premium within that limit; treatment of contributions exceeding 6 percent, and contributions exceeding actual origination fees, closing costs, prepaid items and discount points, as inducements to purchase; the prohibition on using interested party contributions toward the minimum required investment; the list of inducements to purchase including decorating allowances, repair allowances, excess rent credit, moving costs, paying off consumer debt and personal property; the dollar-for-dollar reduction of the purchase price when computing adjusted value before applying the LTV percentage; adjusted value on a purchase as the lesser of purchase price less inducements to purchase or the property value; the minimum required investment of at least 3.5 percent of adjusted value; and the exclusion of real estate agent commissions or fees typically paid by the seller under state or local law or custom, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1, Origination through Post-Closing/Endorsement, Title II Insured Housing Programs Forward Mortgages, last revised 11/26/2025. Limit of seller concessions to no more than 4 percent of the home’s reasonable value as shown on the VA Notice of Value, the absence of any VA limit on seller or builder credits toward a loan’s closing costs, the definition of seller concessions as anything of value added to the transaction at no additional cost to the buyer, and examples including credits for the VA funding fee, debt payoff and prepayment of the buyer’s hazard insurance, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, VA funding fee and loan closing costs. Classification of a builder- or seller-funded temporary buydown as a seller concession subject to the 4 percent cap, the separate-escrow requirement, and qualification on the full payment owed after the buydown period ends, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Temporary Buydowns. Limitation of seller and other interested-party contributions to six percent of the sales price, and exclusion of lender premium-pricing credits, seller-provided repair funds and the buyer’s real estate commission fees from that limitation, USDA Rural Development, HB-1-3555 Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program Technical Handbook, Chapter 6, Loan Purposes, revised 05-05-25. Median total loan costs for home purchase loans of $6,684 in 2023, up 12.3 percent from $5,954 in 2022, medians of $11,368 on FHA and $7,530 on VA home purchase loans, and the limitation of the HMDA total-loan-costs measure to buyer-paid amounts, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2023 Mortgage Market Activity and Trends, December 2024. Seller concessions recorded in 46.2% of U.S. home sales in the rolling three-month period ending May 31, 2026, up from 43.1% a year earlier, the highest May share in records beginning in 2019, and a definition that excludes list-price reductions, Redfin, June 22, 2026. Prohibition on communicating offers of compensation through an MLS and the requirement that MLS-participant buyer agents have a written agreement with the buyer before touring a home, effective August 17, 2024, National Association of REALTORS®. Michigan state real estate transfer tax of $3.75 per $500 of value, MCL 207.525, with liability on the seller, MCL 207.523; county real estate transfer tax of 55 cents per $500 in a county with a population under 2,000,000, MCL 207.504, with liability on the seller, MCL 207.502, a threshold no Michigan county exceeds given Wayne County’s 2020 census population of 1,793,561, the state’s largest, U.S. Census Bureau, 2020 Decennial Census; and the state transfer tax exemption for property with a principal residence exemption whose state equalized valuation at transfer is equal to or less than its state equalized valuation at acquisition in an arm’s-length sale, with the refund request procedure and the four-year-and-15-day filing window, MCL 207.526 and Michigan Department of Treasury Form 2796. Michigan Seller Disclosure Act application to transfers of not less than 1 or more than 4 residential dwelling units and the good-faith written statement requirement, MCL 565.951 et seq. Lead hazard disclosure duties for pre-1978 target housing, 42 U.S.C. 4852d. Treatment of commissions, advertising fees, legal fees and loan charges paid by the seller, such as loan placement fees or points, as selling expenses reducing the amount realized, Internal Revenue Service Publication 523, Selling Your Home. Requirement that a buyer reduce the basis of the home by the amount of seller-paid points treated as paid by the buyer, Internal Revenue Service Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal, financial, or tax advice. Loan program limits, agency guidelines, statutory rates and tax rules change and vary by program, property, and locality; confirm current contribution limits with your loan officer, confirm contract, disclosure and transfer-tax obligations with a Michigan real estate attorney, and confirm tax treatment with a qualified tax professional. Figures shown are illustrative, are not a rate quote or an offer of credit, and do not constitute an advertisement of credit terms. Align Lending is an independent Michigan mortgage broker, NMLS #2041154, and is not a real estate listing brokerage. Align Lending works with FHA-, VA- and USDA-approved lenders and is not acting on behalf of, endorsed by, or sponsored by HUD/FHA, the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, USDA Rural Development, or any government agency.

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