sdr:
I would also take a Summerhill home for less money as well, but I do not see them going down yet to what we could afford. There are definitely nicer parts of VP than others, I agree.

I have only been inside the Summerhill model that has two bedrooms upstairs and an office down (approx 1600 sq ft) and know it would be too small for us in the long run. The homeowners seemed cramped with two kids there. I have not personally toured the larger models but suspect they would be perfect if the price eventually comes down to what we can afford.

I do like larger yards which are a plus in some of the older places.

The VP condos have really gone down though. We looked 1.5 years ago and the 3/ 2.5 models were listing for 499k and they are definitely not selling for close to that now. We are trying to wait for a sfr though.

2 years of saving should put us in a pretty good situation I hope, but then we will want to start a family and not be over-mortgaged.