Underwrite the next phase on numbers that already happened.
First-party costs from Bids Contracting’s own closed jobs — dozens of completed homes across Wichita, grouped the way a capital stack argues a deal. Not a national database. Dated, and refreshed as projects close.
What it costs to build, to the dollar.
| Product | Size | Build $/sf | Land basis | All-in | Yield on cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build-to-rent duplex (2 units) | ~2,424 sf | $108 | $29,000 | $308,266 | 12–15% |
| Single-family build-to-rent home | 1,209–1,500 sf | $123–133 | ~$29,000 | ~$189,000 | 12–15% |
Every figure is a real actual or a live budget, grouped from 60–80 cost codes into the trades a GP, lender, and land seller actually argue — not the way a superintendent codes a job. Land basis is stated separately because it is the lever that sets the yield. Yield on cost is the new-build-to-rent portfolio range, not a per-lot guarantee.
The number only holds if the schedule does.
Every month a build runs long is interest carry you eat and rent you never collect. On a rental, time is yield — so the schedule is underwritten, not hoped for.
You’re not hiring a contractor at the end of the chain.
You’re plugging into the operating layer that sits between the parties and keeps the underwriting intact — design-build and engineering under one contract, so the cost basis above survives contact with a real deal.
Where the cost is headed.
Build cost is up ~6% over two years — measured from our own jobs, not estimated. Materials run 3–4% a year; metal (gutters, flashing, garage doors) worse. Framing and concrete are ~26–28% of a build and where the market moves you most. Land basis is the offset: hold it near $29k and the yield holds with it.
These are my numbers.
Every figure on this page came off one of our jobs, on a standard Steve Manweiler spent a career setting. If they don’t hold on your deal, I’ll be the one to tell you — that’s the whole reason we publish them.
Austin Smith · Bids Contracting
Run it on your deal.
Send us the lot and we’ll run the yield on cost on your actual basis — or model what a 20-door phase looks like on these numbers. Fifteen minutes, no pitch.
Send the land basis — we’ll run the yield Model a 20-door phaseMethodology: figures are real actuals and live budgets from Bids Contracting jobs, grouped from 60–80 cost codes, dated, and refreshed as new projects close. Free to cite with attribution and a link to bidscontracting.com. As of August 2026.