I worked for a residential home builder in the 1970’s. In 1978 and 1979 we were spending 80K for sticks and bricks on a 4-bedroom SFD and another 18-20K to buy down the interest rate so the buyer could qualify for a mortgage. It was that or keep paying interest on the construction loan for the dirt, undergrounds, sticks and bricks. This all sounds very similar.
I had happily forgotten those times