Got an off-the-wall question...Does anyone know about those "bandit" signs the home builders use?

Definitely get active in the forums and check out a few local real estate groups like Black Diamond and Boston Wealth Builders.

I have a lot of family (including general contractor, handymen, dock builder, home builders) in SE Florida.My goals are to buy and hold rental properties- my comfort level currently would be to do this in areas I am familiar with and have connections in.

We are a team of three, one architects, one designer / builder / project manager and one real estate broker with 25 years each in the residential market.  

Cary its also regionalized.... just watch your new home builders in your state.. count the starts and compare to 2000 for instance.. but in much of the mid west rust belt... exsiting homes are far cheaper than you can build one for.Not so in our area.. existing homes within 20 minutes of the urban core in any direction at 350 to 1.5 million.

Doing the math and some guessing, $100k cost to build 1600sf is $62.50 per sf - that's likely the builder's cost not including their profit margin of at least 20% (cost plus 20%).  

Ask a local builder, this question has no answer.

Hubby is a builder so he is pretty handy and can handle most repairs.

@Dani Sung,What you're seeing with rising values right now is purely the product of supply-and-demand.In the crash, some 80% of home builder went under.

Having come from a decent sized home builder as their project manager, I use several tools to run my projects.