I will only buy "antique" furniture, for precisely this reason. When we were looking for a house, I prioritized homes built before 1933 (when asbestos materials became widely used). We bought a house built in 1929, and the materials and workmanship are phenomenally good. It wasn't like a custom build or anything, either: the surrounding three blocks were built at the same time by the same developer, and they were originally owned by working-class families. It's just, as you say, everything has got worse.