Well, I don't know where you live but in America houses are definitely not designed to last centuries. A few may last for centuries, just due to the sheer numbers of houses built, but they're not designed that way. They're designed to be cheap to build. The typical stick built house uses a frame of cheap 2 by 4s covered by cheap plywood. They're vulnerable to rot, insects, severe weather, etc. Maybe you live in an area where concrete houses are the norm.

Stick built houses are a plague upon the land.