“Luxury” is simply a marketing term and has no importance.

The relevant question is how do the cheapest materials today compares to the cheapest materials in the 1980s?

I dunno, spending $4000/mo in Mountain View, you tend to have a few expectations. (in other words, it is more or less impossible to rent anything of actual quality)

The garbage materials of today didn't exist nearly as much in the 80s so they'd have to have used at least cheap solid wood instead of sawdust foam.

> garbage materials of today didn't exist nearly as much in the 80s

Most of the 80s homes I have looked at have plenty of garbage materials: wasn’t the 80s when polystyrene decorative mouldings started being popular? Polystyrene houses and leaky building syndrome are definitely an 80s thing, but crappy claddings[2] have existed since the 20s.

There are plenty of garbage homes made with a variety of different garbage materials in the decades before that e.g. ticky-tacky[1]. Different types of particle board have been around for a while.

Watch out for embedded asbestos fibre in stucco ceilings or external claddings especially before the 80s - that shit can really tank resale value because it is hideously expensive to remove (vendor doesn’t legally have to declare it {in New Zealand}, but at some point in the future I expect that will be required).

Cheap and terrible homes and apartments are built in any decade or century. The Road to Wigan Pier written in 1937 talks about the crappy old brick homes in the UK. Survival bias and “the good old days” can make us think old homes are better.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boxes

[2] https://soundhomesnz.co.nz/what-type-of-cladding-does-your-h...

> Watch out for embedded asbestos fibre in stucco ceilings or external claddings especially before the 80s - that shit can really tank resale value because it is hideously expensive to remove (vendor doesn’t legally have to declare it {in New Zealand}, but at some point in the future I expect that will be required).

Best not to remove asbestos unless it is flaking and unpainted. Disturbing it is likely to make things worse. It lasts forever and has incredible insulative properties despite its toxic nature.

Almost all older homes (pre 1973 I think) have lead paint too with the same caveat to not disturb it unless absolutely necessary. Lead plumbing is a different matter and should be removed unless possibly it is a sewage pipe.

Resale prices are relative to other homes in the neighborhood. If all the other homes are old too, then they all have the same toxic building materials so no devaluation is likely.

You're paying $3999/month for the land and $1/month for the building materials. The luxury is that you probably chose Mountain View so you can bike to your office, which is more enjoyable than driving.

That is related to supply and demand of land/housing units. I do not see what it has to do with progress or lack thereof in building materials.