why are most suburban houses in the US built with wood, instead of bricks and mortar?

Question

why are most suburban houses in the US built with wood, instead of bricks and mortar?

In: 5

Answer 1

In some regions of the US seismic activity causes a high failure rate of masonry structures. Wood structures are flexible, whereas mortar structures are brittle under seismic forces, so the wooden structures tend to be more resilient in these seismically active regions. That is one reasons why wood is used in some regions.