Re: stucco vs brick?
miicha, choice between stucco or bricks is really subjective but people tend to go with the norm per their area/neighborhood. For example, in the west coast you rarely see a brick house. Over 95 100% of the houses built in California, Nevada, Arizona etc are of stucco finish (Spanish styles). In the East coast, stucco isn't that popular as compared to bricks. Structurally, they both can hold equally well. There is no issue with stucco in terms of water going behind on the structural wood frame. In terms of mainenance, stucco is no different than bricks. All you need to do is wash the exterior once in every five years or even less frequent. And you need to do that for bricks as well, perhaps more often. Stucco doesn't require painting coat over it if you choose colored finish coat. Almost all stucco is done in this manner these days that finish coat has color in it. You can choose colors just as you choose oaint colors. There is a better product availabe these days called acrylic finish. This is more durable and almost maintenace free.
What region are you in? Being somewhat expert in the field, I can answer any specific question you may have.