Have you heard of the new hook in real estate, the one that offers a 2% cash rebate on a new home purchase anywhere in the United States? Believe it or not, it's already happening in the great state of Texas.

If you're a Texas resident looking for land or a new home, do some research and check out opportunities to take advantage of reaping such a great benefit from purchasing a new home.

Who doesn't need extra cash, which you can apply to a down payment, to escrow closing costs or just to tuck away in your wallet? Because of the slump in the national real estate market, consumers may find such lucrative deals offered by local or regional real estate brokers and agents around the country.

Most builders add a 3% commission rate to their home selling price. If a realtor isn't involved in a purchase between the new home builder and a buyer, the builder keeps that 3% and adds it to his profit. Many people aren't aware of this fact, but knowing basic real estate information, or knowing someone involved in the real estate business, can save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the course of your new home purchase transaction.

While this new trend has recently appeared in Texas, you can bet that other companies around the United States, and even realtors, are going to start offering the same perks to new homebuyers around the country. And why not? Who wouldn't like to be known for sharing profits?

New home rebates may be a new idea to the real estate market, but times are hard and the real estate market has landed in more than its fair share of ruts over the last decade. By offering cash rebates to Texas residents, real estate deals have offered a new surge of interest and energy for those looking for new homes not only in Texas, but around the country.

Most savvy shoppers know that when retail stores offer a rebate, they have more than likely already increased the cost of their merchandise to absorb the rebate that is going to be offered. It doesn't work that way with a builder who has completed building a new home. The buyer's selling price is fixed at the very beginning, so no inflated costs are tacked onto the price later.

What kind of money can you make with a 2% cash rebate on the sale of a new house? Do the math. If the new house you're considering purchasing is listed on the market for $300,000, you are looking at walking away from that purchase with not only the house to fill your dreams, but an extra $6,000 in your pocket.

With such a bonus, everyone walks away happy - the builder and the buyer. When searching for a new home, one of your biggest decisions will be whether to go with a real estate agent or not.

That is up to the individual, but regardless of your choice, try to know the basics about how real estate agents make or share commissions as well as how information is shared among real estate agencies in your town or county. The more you know, the better prepared you'll be to not only save money, but also to reap the benefits of any real estate transaction.