Comparing houses now to houses then is like comparing a horse to a Honda Accord. I don't think that's a fair comparison. I've lived in a Sear kit house. It had

Comparing houses now to houses then is like comparing a horse to a Honda Accord. I don't think that's a fair comparison. I've lived in a Sear kit house. It had everything someone now would recognized as necessary for a house (including everything you mention, plumbing, wiring, etc and as opposed to a house built in the 1800s, which could have or not-have anything). A fair comparison is a VW bug versus a modern SUV. The bug has everything needed to be a basic car but has nothing to make it special. And the comparison would be closer if only giant SUVs were being sold as cars today.