Disagree. Cookie cutter newer houses which may look "nice" and have "nice" values (probably inflated) don't have the craftsmanship you are describing. I think

Disagree. Cookie cutter newer houses which may look "nice" and have "nice" values (probably inflated) don't have the craftsmanship you are describing. I think its quite the opposite. If you owned an old cottage with exposed hardwood trim, stained glass window, exposed hardwood stairs with a carpet runner, and custom built-ins it would be much harder to DIY improvements. That type of older house may also have older plumbing, older electrical, and possibly plaster walls, all of which will require more care and knowledge to DIY things than new electrical, plumbing or drywall. Take for instance fixing a piece of trim that is an exposed hardwood vs. fixing a piece of trim that could be PVC/composite and some-shade-of-white. You can caulk over mistakes with white trim vs. trying to do a miter on exposed hardwood trim with not-square walls.