Driving costs down is only good if quality isn't compromised too much. In Japan they can compromise quality to the point where they don't expect things to last more than 20 year. In most of the rest of the world people expect a house to last several lifetimes.
What is acceptable is an important question. I've been in houses from 100 years ago, most had significant remodels that clearly did things not anticipated originally and so it is obvious to a knowing eye where the different parts are. On the other hand, construction is expensive and the throw away culture seems wrong too. I'll let you decide where the trade off should be made.
It's also worth noting that even for a "solved problem", driving down costs is still beneficial in the end.