Good post NSR. I agree with it.. However, I can tell you I have seen cases where buyers have backed out because of little swings like that. Yes those cases and far and few between and exceptions to the rule.
One thing though, which again was my intended point of the post. The builders float period is monsterous. Just think about people who signed a purchase agreement in March for a phase that will be completed in June or July. They are pretty screwed right? Also I am sure that neither the sales agent or the preferred lenders loan officer went over different loan payment scenarios based on rate changes. Sometimes deception is made by silence right?
One of the posts recently made was the case of a buyer backing out because of the different payment. Note that I entirely agree with you that the increased payment may not be much… yet it is enough to push the buyer out the door. Now you and I know it really pushed the buyer out the door because the buyer finally realizes it was a bad decision to begin with… not because the buyer has to fork out a little more each month. In these cases, the rate hike is a blessing in disguise.