a significant fraction of the houses in major cities in the northwest, particularly seattle, are these sears homes. there are entire blocks of them, built around 1920 by developers plotting out whole neighborhoods.

many have extensive renovations, others are essentially standing as-built. typically they are worth millions, but that's more about geography and zoning than the construction itself.

i have lived in a few, all with the original plaster, and a mix of original plumbing/electrical. generally i would say even the mostly-original ones were are some of the nicest places i've ever lived, but that's not saying much.

there is definitely a survivorship bias, but the ones still standing seem to have weathered the moisture well. much of the ~70/80s era construction i have seen seems to have fared worse, and the new construction i've seen is downright laughable.