If you underwrite build-to-rent from out of state, you’re guessing at two numbers that decide the deal: what a duplex actually costs to build in this market, and what it truly rents for once it’s up. Buffalo Grove is eighteen of them, built over two years. Here’s the whole stack — land, every trade, the sale, and the yield — from real job cost, not a pro forma.
The project
Eighteen duplexes — 36 rental units — across three phases, November 2023 to now. Each unit is a brand-new 3-bed / 2-bath, 1,212 sq ft, with a 2-car attached garage, fenced yard, quartz counters and luxury vinyl plank. Same duplex plan, built eighteen times. That repetition is why the cost below is predictable instead of hopeful — when you’ve built the same building a dozen-plus times, the estimate is the actual.
What it costs to build — one duplex
Every line is real, from the current phase budget (2026, Phase III). Eighty cost codes, grouped into the trades an investor thinks in. This is one duplex — both units, ~2,424 sq ft under roof.
| Trade | Cost |
|---|---|
| Framing (lumber, trusses, labor) | $37,390 |
| Foundation & concrete | $34,928 |
| Supervision | $18,000 |
| Plumbing | $17,140 |
| Landscape, grade, sprinkler & fence | $16,246 |
| HVAC | $14,750 |
| Interior doors, trim & hardware | $14,543 |
| Drywall | $14,350 |
| Permits, fees, design & accounting | $13,127 |
| Electrical | $12,841 |
| Cabinets, counters & tile | $11,394 |
| Siding & gutters | $11,369 |
| Sitework, utilities & temp services | $10,014 |
| Roofing | $9,500 |
| Flooring (LVP & carpet) | $9,063 |
| Paint | $9,000 |
| Windows & exterior doors | $7,976 |
| Lighting, appliances & misc finish | $6,241 |
| Insulation | $3,500 |
| Cleanup, labor & punch | $2,700 |
| Glass & mirrors | $2,552 |
| Masonry / brick | $2,167 |
| Security & warranty reserve | $475 |
| Total construction | $279,266 |
That’s $115 per square foot across the duplex — roughly $139,600 of vertical cost per rentable unit. Framing and concrete alone are 26% of the build and where the market moves you most. Supervision is a line item at $18,000, not an afterthought — it’s the number that holds the other seventy-nine, and it’s priced in on purpose.
The cost arc — two years, three phases
| Phase | Duplexes | Period | Build / duplex | $/sq ft | vs. budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase I | 4 | Nov 2023–2025 | $263,188 | $109 | $14,962 under |
| Phase II | 10 | 2025 | $276,009 | $114 | $50,972 under |
| Phase III | 4 | 2026 | $279,266 | $115 | building now |
Build cost per duplex rose $16,078 — about 6% — from Phase I to Phase III. That’s the market, not a Bids problem: materials ran up 3–4% a year over this stretch, metal worse. What you’re looking at is what two years of real cost inflation does to a Wichita duplex ‐ measured, not guessed.
Built at or under budget, every phase — and under 120 days
Costs rose; discipline rose with them. Every phase closed at or under budget, and every unit turned in under 120 days from permit to certificate of occupancy — the majority under 100. In build-to-rent, the calendar is the return: every week over is loan interest plus a month of rent you didn’t collect.
- Phase I closed $14,962 under budget across four duplexes.
- Phase II closed $50,972 under budget across ten — and did it with one lot running $55,435 over. The system absorbed a blown building and still beat the number by fifty grand.
Land in, all-in
| Per duplex | Per unit | |
|---|---|---|
| Land basis | $29,000 | $14,500 |
| Construction (Phase III) | $279,266 | $139,633 |
| All-in | $308,266 | $154,133 |
Before financing carry and selling costs, which sit on top. The $29,000 lot is what makes both sides of this deal work at once.
What it sells for — and what it yields
Here’s the part an out-of-state investor actually cares about: the return on the building.
- Sale price: $199,000 per door at retail (12803 E Blake St, sold October 2025) — about $400,000 for the duplex. Sold as a package to an investor, they ran $375,000–$385,000. Call it a $380–400j duplex, depending on whether it goes by the door or as a pair.
- Rent: $1,600 per door, per month — verified on a listed Buffalo Grove unit (12954 E Blake St, 3/2, 1,212 sq ft). Two doors = $3,200/mo, $38,400/year per duplex.
| Investor math (per duplex) | Package @ $380k | By-door @ $400k: |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual rent (2 × $1,600 × 12) | $38,400 | $38,400 |
| Gross yield on purchase | 10.1% | 9.6% |
| Est. cap rate after operating expenses | ~6.3% | ~6.0% |
What I’d change — from the data
- The Phase II lot that ran $55k over. One building out of eighteen broke its budget by more than a fifth. The phase still won, but catching that lot at week three instead of at closeout is the cheapest margin available — it costs nothing but attention.
- A single-line blowup hides in plain sight. On one Phase I duplex, final plumbing came in at $16,000 against a $5,100 budget — an $11k spike on one line. Any code can run away; the budget report is what makes it visible before it compounds.
- Lock more lots at $29k. The basis is the best return in the entire stack, and you buy it once, up front. Every lot you don’4 tie down at that number, you rebuy later at retail — and the investor’s yield goes with it.
Get the benchmarks
I pblish one of these a month ‐ the real cost to build in Wichita, updated as the market moves. Build-cost and rent benchmarks, no pitch. If you underwrite deals here and you’re done guessing, put your email below.