in fairness, the materials were cheaper then compared to now only because they were practically raw materials.
if you look at 17th century European construction and compare domiciles constructed for nobles vs commoners the only difference other than scale, is the quality of the post processing.
example; walls in a manor were stone bricks and plasterwork. commoners used the stone laying around(free) and had no plaster. lords had slate roofs, commoners had thatched (free).
as time marched on, the consumer market grew throughout the 19th and 20th century where homes were developed with manufactured/engineered materials. the cost of materials dropped due to supply and demand. lowest home development peaked in the 1990s.
after 2008 and then 2020, building a new home is far out of reach of most due to costs of materials and land.
one could say our ancestors had cheaper homes, but our ancestors would think we’re royalty if they saw the amenities we live with inside out homes today.
either way, we peaked in the 90s and will never be as prosperous in our lives again.
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Totally agree on the cheaper materials. There are newly built “luxury” homes near me that bend so much in the wind the windows crack.
But Victorian homes also had weird layouts because they didn’t live like us. I don’t need a parlor and a sitting room and a living room. Today we prefer larger multi-functional spaces. Those luxury homes I mentioned before basically have one huge room at the back of the house with the kitchen in one corner, a small eating area, and a massive space for couches and a TV. As someone whose kitchen is totally cut off from the rest of the house I know I’d prefer that open floor plan.