You can get an idea of material costs by going to Home Depot with approximate sizes and quantities.

I always tell clients, there's building code, and then there's logic...unfortunately the two don't always live in harmony.

I didn't read the other posts, but the 1% rule of thumb exists in 'reasonable quantity' for those who look (a little harder to see/find now compared to 5 years ago) in most of NC except the metro areas of Raleigh, Charlotte, Wilmington, and anomalies like Ashville and other lower population/high demand islands like coastal cities.

They say that cash flow somehow makes them magically immune to any downturn as if their tenants and their cash flow especially in lower end markets (where cash flow on paper looks the highest) will somehow be unaffected ... rent doesn't go down in a recession, it stops ... not all cash flow is created equal, and quality of cash flow in this case is more important than the quantity. 

Quality over quantity guys. 

Nope..... the credit they receive rarely meets the quality or quantity of work they perform.IF you have someone you truly feel is qualified to do the work, then hire them to do the specific work..... that $$ is TOTALLY separate from the rentGuy mows lawn for a living...ok....what do you charge per house?......

Harmony... just why are you putting a timeline of 2020 on the end of this question?

I agree inflation is for sure having an effect but the sheer quantity of demand and lack of housing in the area is really what I think is driving it. 

Just from a marital harmony issue?

I found one of the most respected traders for that market and signed a deal to buy some small quantity from him (I didn't make much money on that trade :) ).