The most generous offer on a new home in Midlothian right now carries a 2.99% first-year rate, and the more important number in that offer is 4.99%. At Goodland, Beazer Homes is advertising an FHA 2/1 buydown on select quick move-in homes. The rate is 2.99% in year one, 3.99% in year two and 4.99% for years 3 through 30, with a disclosed APR of 5.959%. The contract has to be signed by November 30, 2026, and the home closed by December 31, 2026. The 2.99% only lasts twelve months. The 4.99% is the rate on the note, and for conventional loans, the Fannie Mae Selling Guide says the lender must qualify the borrower at the note rate "without consideration of the bought-down rate."
That detail explains Midlothian's market this fall. Sticker prices tell you less than usual. Most of the discounting is in financing terms, and those terms come with deadlines.
The median dropped, and the price of a square foot held
The September 2026 MLS summary from NTREIS, produced by the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M and posted by MetroTex, shows Midlothian's single-family median sale price falling from $490,500 in September 2025 to $470,000 in September 2026. That's a drop of about 4%. Over the same months, the median price per square foot barely moved.
| Single-family, September | Midlothian 2025 | Midlothian 2026 | Mansfield 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Closed sales | 66 | 61 | 66 |
| Median price | $490,500 | $470,000 | $490,000 |
| Median price per sq. ft. | $182.66 | $182.47 | $182.33 |
| Sold-to-list ratio | 92.9% | 95.7% | 94.5% |
| Median days on market | 96 | 83 | 65 |
| Active listings | 277 | 293 | 280 |
| Months of inventory | 3.9 | 4.6 | 3.3 |
A home that sells for less per square foot has lost value. Midlothian's price per square foot fell by 19 cents in a year, while the median fell by $20,500. The likely explanation is that cheaper or smaller homes made up more of September's sales, not that the same homes sold for less.
The other rows point the same way. In September 2026, Midlothian sellers closed at 95.7% of list price, up from 92.9% a year earlier, and median days on market fell from 96 to 83. Sellers were getting closer to their asking prices and selling faster. Inventory still rose to 4.6 months, so buyers had more homes to choose from. The pressure on price was real, but it wasn't hitting the value of a square foot.
Mansfield, next door, priced its square foot at $182.33 in September 2026, almost the same as Midlothian. Its higher median reflects a different mix of homes. Buyers in the two cities paid about the same for the space itself.
These figures cover homes sold through the MLS. The report counts new and existing homes together and leaves out builder sales made outside the system. Many new-home sales never show up in the table, and that's where the discounting in this market is happening.
Where the discount went: a calendar of builder deadlines
Midlothian's builders mostly aren't cutting list prices. They're offering financing credits, closing-cost money and flex dollars, and each offer has an expiration date. As of early November 2026, the published offers fall into three groups.
- November 30, 2026. Beazer's 2/1 buydown at Goodland requires a contract by this date and closing by December 31, financed through Jet HomeLoans for a primary residence. American Legend Homes is offering up to $20,000 toward closing costs on inventory or to-be-built homes contracted by November 30 and closed by May 31, 2027. Its Midlothian quick move-in homes range from $369,000 to $889,000 across BridgeWater sections.
- December 31, 2026. At Goodland, David Weekley Homes offers buyers a choice of two incentives. One is 7% of the home's base price in flex dollars, which can go toward a discount, design selections or financing. The other is up to $16,500 in financing incentives through Priority Home Mortgage plus an existing credit of up to $3,500, for up to $20,000 total. Highland Homes offers up to $20,000 through Highland HomeLoans or up to $15,000 with another lender. Buyers have to apply for financing within five days of signing and close by June 30, 2027.
- No calendar date posted. William Ryan Homes labels its MidTowne offer "Fall 2026." Its incentive menu for participating communities includes up to $7,500 toward closing costs or a rate buydown, up to $10,000 in design allowance, half off lot premiums and half off the first three structural options. MidTowne starts at $361,990, and its four quick move-in homes are listed between $444,990 and $519,990. DRB Homes advertises "Save Up to $50,000 + Special Rate" on select homes at Westside Preserve, with quick move-in homes listed at $499,990, $559,990 and $563,990. Two of those are listed as available in November 2026.
Goodland alone shows 137 results on its move-in-ready search. The lowest-priced listing is a David Weekley home at 7542 Epiphany Way for $399,990, followed by a Beazer home at 7309 Tiger Lily Trail for $432,065. Goodland notes that all of its offers apply to eligible homes and buyers and are subject to change.
The builder that cut the sticker price
One listing breaks the pattern. At Bloomfield Homes' Villages of Walnut Grove, a move-in-ready Rockcress plan has been repriced from $511,797 to $456,000, a reduction of $55,797. It's a 4-bed, 3-bath home with 2,253 square feet and a two-car garage on a 0.1808-acre lot.
A price cut shows up in every payment for the life of the loan. A credit toward a buydown or closing costs gets spent once, mostly at the start. Midlothian buyers this fall have both kinds of offers to choose from, sometimes within a few miles of each other, and the national numbers say that's typical.
The National Association of Home Builders' October 2026 Housing Market Index fell to 29, the lowest reading since June 2012. In the same survey, 43% of builders reported cutting prices, the highest share of the 2020 to 2026 period. The average cut held at 6%, and 65% of builders used sales incentives. NAHB's release says mortgage rates "climbed well above 7% in recent weeks." The South's three-month average score was 30. With market rates that high, a builder-paid note rate of 4.99% is a big part of what's being sold.
What this means when a resale and a new build are on the same list
A resale seller in Midlothian is competing with the builder's financing offer as much as with the builder's price. September's numbers show resale-heavy MLS sellers holding up: 95.7% of list price and a steady value per square foot. Most resale sellers can't offer a builder-subsidized note rate tied to an in-house lender. When they compete, it's usually on the list price.
For a buyer comparing the two, the useful numbers are the monthly payment in year one, the payment from year three on, the cash needed at closing and the date the offer expires. Fannie Mae describes a temporary buydown as a subsidy placed in a buydown account that lowers payments for a set period, while the note rate and required payment in the loan documents stay the same. Its guide also requires the buydown terms to be disclosed to the appraiser. Several offers tie the full incentive to the builder's affiliated lender. Highland, for example, offers $20,000 with Highland HomeLoans and $15,000 with another lender.
The supply behind these offers keeps growing. Midlothian's permit activity report for September 1 to 30, 2026, shows 55 permits and 10 certificates of occupancy, along with 52 new detached single-family projects accepted. On August 11, 2026, the City Council heard a proposal to expand BridgeWater by 593 acres and 910 single-family lots, including townhome areas. A steady flow of new homes keeps builders competing for the same buyers, and so far that competition has come through financing offers more than price cuts.
FAQ
Did Midlothian home values fall in 2026? The median sale price fell from $490,500 in September 2025 to $470,000 in September 2026, but the median price per square foot stayed at about $182.50. Homes sold for about the same per square foot as a year earlier, according to the NTREIS September 2026 report.
When do the current Midlothian builder incentives expire? The published deadlines cluster around November 30, 2026, for Beazer at Goodland and American Legend, and December 31, 2026, for David Weekley and Highland at Goodland. Some closing deadlines run into mid-2027. William Ryan and DRB haven't posted a calendar date for their current offers.
Is a 2/1 buydown rate the rate a lender uses to approve the loan? For conventional loans, Fannie Mae's guide requires qualifying at the note rate. With an FHA loan like the Beazer offer, the lender sets the qualifying terms. This post is general information, not financial or legal advice, so check the details of any loan with your lender.
If you're deciding between a Midlothian resale and a Goodland, BridgeWater or MidTowne build before these deadlines pass, Krissy Mireles can help you put the offers side by side. We'll compare the year-one payment, the long-term payment and the cash needed to close. Let's talk about your next move.
