We tend towards the same sort of mix here in Colorado; general home constructions is timber frame clad in siding, although I live in an odd municipality in that they have code about the cladding of residential buildings needing to be a mix of some sort of siding versus brick (although I can't seem to find it now, it may have been an older code or aimed at commercial buildings). Our own (1955) home is clad in a mix of brick facade (original to the house, about 1/5 of the front exterior) and white coated metal siding (added by the previous owner). I can vouch for the "load bearing" being more or less just support posts, another home of our floorplan on the block had some extensive renovation done inside, including opening up the kitchen as much as they could to the living and dining areas, except for the one corner of the kitchen walls that is clearly the load bearing element running to the steel beam running through the center of the main floor's length.
"You know how parents tell you everything's going to fine, but you know they're lying to make you feel better? Everything's going to be fine." - The Doctor