> Fair points, another difficulty up here in Canada and probably in the States as well is that there are shortages of people who can build houses. That didn't

> Fair points, another difficulty up here in Canada and probably in the States as well is that there are shortages of people who can build houses. That didn't stop them before. Joking aside, I find the build quality in the US quite poor overall (even in the north, in Ohio). We have the same issue in continental Europe (France-Germany at least) with new-ish, low-end stock (late 90s-early 2010s at least), but we're not nearly as bad (I'm mostly thinking of windows and electricity, but even carpentry is approximative from what I've seen). Which is weird, because I've seen / talked with skilled tradespeople in West Virginia, and saw the most impressive house in the middle of nowhere, Lincoln County.