You are not alone. I have experienced a similar problem in building apartments on some land that I own. In an “up” market, the contractors are all super busy, making it hard to get quotes, and lengthening the development process. In talking with banks for the Construction Loans, I have been using cost per square foot estimates from published sources, then that are uplifted to manage risks. After doing this, I re-evaluated the rent surveys and made assumptions on leasing up the units after the buildings were built. I found that the numbers did not support the project so its on hold until rents catch up with costs to build. Due to the cyclical nature of the RE Market, balance will eventually return, so hang on to your plans.