Where I live it's more extreme. Construction materials are sourced from different suppliers, and they are given apartments instead of cash. A developer can get

Where I live it's more extreme. Construction materials are sourced from different suppliers, and they are given apartments instead of cash. A developer can get started with around an apartment worth of capital. He'll leverage 2-3x through a bank to pay for workers and various. Then raise money before building from some want-to-be homeowners. The pre-construction sale gets you a cheaper price. So he gets 2-3x his capital, whatever he raised from future owners, and free construction materials. If he plays his cards correctly and do sell all of the building, he can 4-5x his money in a 3 years period. I had a relative in this kinda business and most of his job was "building connections" and "deal striking".