I'm with you. Older buildings generally have more character and are built to last. This is not to say that they are ALL quality, but I'd wager that the ratio of quality/low quality is reversed in relation to modern buildings. That is, old buildings mostly were good quality and built to last, and modern buildings are mostly low quality that will fall apart.
I live in a rapidly gentrifying area, and one day I was walking beside a plumber who was working on my block and we started chatting, and as we passed the brand-new "luxury" apartments, he said "I would never want to live in one of these." I asked him why, and he said the plumbing was all f**ked up! Brand new. "Luxury." But built with problems from the start.