Amherst is largely newer suburban construction, and newer buildings fail differently. Less foundation seepage, more appliance and supply-line failures, and more finished lower levels to damage when they do.
Second-floor laundry rooms are the modern version of the problem. A supply failure up there travels through the ceiling of everything below it.
What we deal with in Amherst homes
Appliance connections lead: refrigerator ice maker lines, dishwasher supplies and washing machine hoses. All of them are small-diameter, all under constant pressure, all behind something.
The ice maker line is the sneakiest, because it is behind a heavy appliance nobody moves and a slow leak there wets the floor structure for months.
What is the most common leak in a newer house?
An appliance supply connection rather than a pipe in a wall. They are the newest parts of the plumbing and they fail most, because they are small, plastic in places, and never inspected.
Should I worry about a second-floor laundry?
Worth having a drain pan under the machine plumbed to a drain, and shutting the valves when you travel. A failure up there reaches every floor beneath it.