There must be a ton of capital on the sidelines, and investors are putting down more on deals for them to work.Factor in tax benefits, hedge on inflation, rents still cheaper than buying, and the investment is still compelling to some.There are deals out there, you just have to create relationships with brokers, and play the long game.

But our product was/is nicer so we are out selling the other developments regardless of commissions offered except Lennar as they are hundreds of thousands cheaper for same sq foot.. and I think my wife double ends almost half our sales..

I also have zero interest in positioning ourselves as a “value” offering in an industry where top performers can 2x + the cheaper companies. 

I'm not grossly opposed to SFH if it is much cheaper, but do to the spacing between dwellings per city code I could fit more doors on this plot if building duplex.

Being that you are in the bay area, if you wanted to purchase an investment property with 20% +- down, then you may want to look into a cheaper location to start with.

Related to the poor appraisals, it is cheaper to buy a property with an ADU already added than build one.  

Houses are cheaper in AR than in Texas and so is the property tax.

There are many long-term rentals, and rents are relatively cheaper here but considering the current interest rate market I am not sure how well they're performing.

You want to find a price per unit significantly cheaper than the pricer per unit relative to the area.

This approach is faster, cheaper (no double transactions) and no one has to come up with cash.