This sort glosses over the real percentage of construction costs by giving only a 20 or so percent of profit. A large portion of construction though is the indi

This sort glosses over the real percentage of construction costs by giving only a 20 or so percent of profit. A large portion of construction though is the individual sub-contractors profits. I would guess that the large difference in costs vs 100 years ago is proportional to the increased number of subcontractors. A hundred years ago a lot of lumber was even at least partially milled on site too. The actual costs of real labor and real materials is pretty cheap. Even with the elevated building costs today you could still build an average home for sub $40,000 dollars if you control all aspects of the process.