"Oh my, you don't know much about building do you? There is a loss factor in the pricing. Guess how that factor is determined? "
Nice work Ed helping Liz dig herself out of her hole explaining the cost implications of socio-economics in Camden vs Short Hills. Let me get this straight. Since the crime rate is way higher in Camden, it will cost more to build the same house there, than it does in Short Hills right? Dooh! But that was the exact opposite of what you were trying to prove!
"OK class, our next lesson will be on pay scale and how it varies ."
No one is denying that pay scale varies or that it's a factor in construction costs. That's why it's very important to know the house of interest is in NJ, as opposed to Iowa. Sure there are even labor cost differences in NJ, but they aren't as wide as the labor cost differences between NJ and Iowa. And surely labor cost differences don't explain your assertion that there is a 7 to 8 times construction cost difference for building the exact same house in two locations in NJ. And BTW, labor cost differences don't explain construction cost differences between Camden and Short Hills either. That's because the unemployed, unskilled workers in Camden aren't the guys that are going to be doing most of the construction work there anyway.