Coming from a construction background, I can confirm all of this. Permits are out of control, material prices are nuts (not COVID nuts, but still at least 300% higher than the good old days), and subcontractors are both hard to find and more expensive. It's not crazy to build a decent 3-4 bedroom house and have it cost $400k all said and done, even in my small-big-ish town.
A lot of people in here arguing, bet there are very few of us that have actually built houses before :)
A lot of people in here arguing, bet there are very few of us that have actually built houses before :)