When I saw the wooden frame construction, I remembered I find it interesting that wood is so affordable in the US. Here in Australia, it's very expensive and often simply unavailable! I have an old door that is made of Western red cedar, and the price to get it repaired was "$noquote - materials unavail" from two different places.

It's not just the price of property that has grown, with younger generations looking to spend more for a smaller house, with a larger deposity and lengthier loan term -- the actual house they are buying is made of very different things. Some are improved (modern double glazing!) but many are just cheap and lack artistic style.