Wooden houses are considered cheaper than brick houses. They are made from natural materials that are biodegradable, recyclable and considered environmentally friendly. Houses made of wood are quick and easy to build, economical and energy efficient. The main reason homebuyers like brick better than wood is because of the wear and tear on the wood.
You have to worry about damage caused by termites and even water, since mold can also become a problem. Now that I have them humming with the Commodores, I really think that a lot of these valuation debates are a bit silly (co-op versus condo, brick V-frame) when used as a basis for deciding which one to buy. If there's a discount on frames (or cooperatives) compared to bricks (or condominiums), you pay less when you buy and get less when you sell. It does not affect the appreciation rate.
The debate only makes sense in the context of determining whether a particular property is priced appropriately. So if you had two houses next to each other, frame against brick, and everything else the same (condition, details, light, amenities, etc.) A higher price is no reason to buy the brick, it's just to know that you should avoid the frame if they have the same price. Brick externals are better able to withstand natural elements such as water, rain, high wind speeds and flying debris than wood. They are also fireproof, which can help contain a fire in a particular room until it goes out, unlike wood materials that catch fire easily.
Insurers charge less for brick buildings because of their durability and the fireproof nature of the materials. A brick house lasts longer than concrete and is more durable than wood. I also appreciate the beauty of those wood-framed Brooklyn houses; but that's not the case with this house. But the new homes to be built in Philadelphia and other traditional townhouse cities such as Baltimore and Brooklyn come with wooden bones and exterior homes made from a variety of materials.
Nothing represents Philadelphia's rapid development like seeing a metal or vinyl-clad house rising out of a sea of red-brick townhouses. In areas where erosion and silt build up, wood is better maintained because it damages brick walls, while wood is resilient. I've also seen a more recent wood-framed brick residence in Irving Place, which also has some real brick, wooden frames, and refurbished wooden frames. You're probably right to say that there are problems with what the DOB will allow you to build or place on top of a wooden house, both for structural and fire hazard reasons, and if it's a brick house that's poorly classified as a frame, I don't know how easy it is to change it.
I recently discovered that when a big fire starts in a wooden house, the FDNY believes it is necessary to open the roof, ceilings and walls of the houses to the left and right of the burning terraced house. With these old houses, there are fears that come with wooden frames (rot, water, termites) that I think are scarier to buyers and perhaps more expensive than you would normally fear in a brick house of a similar harvest.
