I think (hope) that in Germany we are still using brick and mortar construction? Or at least some modular wall elements.

At least I have not really seen those rebar and concrete skeletons that are a common sight basically everywhere else.

3-5 story buildings in the US are usually just wood frame. Any brick or stone is just a 1-2” thick panel they hang on the outside of the building.

Yes, a common construction are these five-over-ones, with a steel-reinforced concrete first floor (for retail) and then wood framed 5-story apartments above.

This podcast goes over what an absolute disaster this type of construction is [0], but for apartments in most major US cities west of the Mississippi, it is hard to avoid _some_ sort of wood framing.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVodkE47aLw