If you're small fry, you're not going to be able to secure the best workers, and you can easily get taken advantage of because you have no idea what shortcuts people are taking if you're not checking up on things.
Also, materials costs are insane right now, if you can even get them in a timely fashion. I know someone who took out a construction loan early 2020 based on estimates pre pandemic. They started building recently, and blew threw their budget on lumber alone and had to draw from retirement accounts to keep going.
It is a great learning exercise, but not one many can afford on their primary residence.
This. Not just materials but parts because of supply chain backups. Oh, and general worker rates. I just had to replace a hot water heater. Big box stores had prices listed (~$1300 but no stock). Plumber wanted to charge $4k for the equipment and installation. Luckily I knew someone who had wholesale accounts, called all over the state, and found one. Then I did the install in ~2 hours. Dealing with that for an entire house, sounds like a terrible experience.
This is probably one of the few times when building new is cheaper than buying old. New builds with modern finishes are more likely to hold value if/when there’s a downturn.