If you build one house it costs about 30-50% more per sq ft than if you build a phase of houses. Each trade has increased costs, waste and lost labor time. If you have 5 hours of electrical to do at a single custom home, the whole 8 hour day is shot. At a tract, they just spend the remaining three hours at the house next door. The bid time, learning curve, purchasing the materials, travel time, etc. for a single job takes the same time and effort as it does for building a phase of houses. If a contractor builds twelve custom homes all over the county or twelve adjacent tract homes at the same time, how many fewr trips to his supplier will he need to make, how much less time studying the plans, how much less time on the road between jobs. Apples and Oranges.