All trees have their problems, but here in SE Wis., it is difficult to grow a decent Austrian or Scotch pine because of the Diplodia shoot blight and the pine shoot borer. White pines are easier, but sometimes get blister rust. Out West the Mountain pine beetle is devastating the pine population in many areas.

There are definite trends in landscaping as there are in other things. For a while pines were planted in large numbers. Now most have either been removed or died as they were planted in the wrong place. Pines are not on the list now for several reason. The more traditional look of a pine does not complement some of the more "modern" looks in architecture. having been over planted in the past, some have an aversion to them now. Many newer yards do not have the room for a pine except for very small specimens. Pines are not cheap and developers are looking for the cheapest landscaping they can get.

I grew up in Arkansas. My observations:

1.) Pine is used as a fast-growing cash timber crop, instead of natural hardwoods for the area, so I tend to look at pine trees the way many people look at corn stalks. Common, cheap, etc...

2.) I remember getting some of the sap on my fingers as a kid, and it was miserable trying to get it off. I don't know how pervasive a problem that is, but I'd have to be persuaded it was a non-issue before planting most (though at a previous house I planted 2 Mugo Pine 'Enci' bushes; those things are quite cute).

3.) When buying wood products like furniture, pine is often seen as cheaper and weaker compared to oak. While this may seem to have little to do with choosing a landscape tree, subtle acquired biases like 'oak good, pine blah' could color such decisions unconsciously.

Richard.

Where I grew upi the southern pines were often used as shade trees. But a lot of people in other parts of the country think a shade tree has to be an oak, maple, ash, or some other deciduous tree, etc. Pines are fairly long lasting and grow quickly. They are the quality fast-growing tree. Just don't plant them too close to the house, especially in coastal areas (hurricanes). Lots of people still like their looks.

"Where the moon shines through tall green pines..." is how a familiar song about North Carolina goes.
The DelMarVa penninsula has countless examples of tall, beautiful, Loblolly Pines with a carpet of needles beneath. They shed lower branches naturally. My observation is not that they were purposely planted, instead development was done around existing plantings. Not only residential development but commercial too. Whispering Pines Motel on the Eastern Shore comes to mind.
A county park not too far from me has a large grove of Red Pine, Pinus resinosa Picnic tables and pavillions are sandwiched here and there in between the pines. In the case of the Red Pines, they may have been planted by the Conservation Corps many decades ago.

same is true in Italy. Pines are just considered cheap trees and have a bad rep. It took me a while to shrug that off and realize that, among conifers, pines are probably the trees that age the best (in the absence of disease, obviously). Actually, they, the cedars, and gingko are probably the only conifers to improve with age, in my view...

If you are trying to get an appearance of maturity as soon as possible, as in a Japanese garden for instance pines are the way to go.

Sometimes you see the same trees on different properties in an area because they all hired the same contractor or landscape architect.

Otherwise different plants come into and go out of fashion over time, as do architectural styles, garments etc.

You can actually find out what plants were in vogue at a particular time and plant these when restoring a period house, as a part of the exercise.