Everything here runs on the same discipline: our own costs come from completed jobs, third-party figures are linked at the claim with their source and date, and where a number is uncertain we say so rather than round it in our favor. If you want the underlying benchmarks instead of the analysis, start at the teardowns.

THE PROOF

Market reads and cost analysis, anchored on first-party job data.

SEPTEMBER 2026 · MARKET READ

Builders are cutting 6% off to move houses. A rental never meets that buyer.

A third of American builders are discounting to close, and it is costing them the deal. Build-to-rent sidesteps the trap because it exits to a yield, not to a payment-sensitive buyer.

35% cutting prices · 6% average cut · 16 straight months
AUGUST 2026 · MARKET READ

The country’s rents stalled. Wichita’s didn’t.

National single-family rent growth went flat to negative for the first time on record. Wichita ran the other way — and the affordability underneath it is the reason the rent side is a floor rather than a bet.

Our duplexes lease at ~$1,600/unit
AUGUST 2026 · CAPITAL

Why out-of-state capital is building in Wichita

The same Midwest affordability and steady renter demand the institutions are chasing, without the Sun Belt oversupply — and why the real problem is not the market, it’s building 800 miles from your desk.

AUGUST 2026 · SCHEDULE

How fast can you actually build a house in Wichita?

Nine months is the national baseline permit-to-completion. We deliver in under 120 days, most under 100 — and speed is yield, not a vanity metric, because every extra month is carry you never get back.

Under 120 days permit-to-keys
AUGUST 2026 · TEARDOWN

Anatomy of a Wichita build-to-rent deal

A representative deal taken apart to the dollar — land, build, timeline, rent, and the yield it throws. Rounded and blended across projects so no single client is identifiable.

~$29,000 land · ~$108/sf · 12–15% yield on cost
AUGUST 2026 · MARKET READ

Build-to-rent is cooling nationally. In Wichita, the math still works.

Starts down, cap rates up, rents flat to negative. All true — and all a Sun Belt oversupply and cost-of-capital story that does not touch a market that never overbuilt.

National BTR starts −26% yoy · SFR cap rate 7.3%
AUGUST 2026 · COST DATA

What it actually costs to build in Wichita in 2026

Our own construction costs, to the dollar, set against national and Midwest figures. The number most builders will not publish, published.

$108/sf construction · ~$310,000 all-in duplex
THE CRAFT

How a building gets designed around the people who live in it.

AUGUST 2026 · CRAFT

A house is square footage. A home is built around a life.

Anyone can pour a slab and frame to a plan. Building around the life inside it is the part the plan set never specifies — and at production scale it is a design problem with a right answer, not a luxury.

The numbers are real. Whether a deal holds is another question. A strong pro forma in the wrong hands still loses money — and seeing the trouble before it starts is the part no spreadsheet gives you. That’s the job.

Bring us the deal you’re looking at.

The analysis is free and the benchmarks are yours to use. If you want them applied to a specific lot, a specific budget, or a builder’s number you’re not sure about, that’s a conversation.

How these numbers are sourced. Bids Contracting’s build-cost, land, timeline, rent, and yield figures are our own, from completed Wichita projects, and are free to quote and cite with a link to bidscontracting.com. Third-party figures are linked inline within each piece, with the source, asset type, and as-of date stated.
Bids Contracting LLC · General Contractor · Wichita, KSEST. WICHITA