dharma, if you buy today you will be upside down by the time you move it, it’s just the way it is. I am feeling this is 23109 version 2.0, 80% of your reasons to buy now are emotional (roots, tired of moving, newlyweds), none of your reasons are that you have found the house you are in love with and you feel it is a wise investment that will be more profitable than renting. Nope, no facts, just feelings. So just do it and don’t look back at the prices for a few years.
Regarding the land, that’s an extreme step from the city life you spoke of in past posts, now you want the space of acerage. Just so you, with land comes neighbors who like their privacy, the further apart the houses, the more likely the occupants like it that way. If you are looking at 15 y.o. houses near the wine country and it’s not a custon, it’s vintage hills or chardonnay hills, not bad areas, you’ll like it there and at 369k it is a fair price for more than 2500 sq and a 3car on a half acre, taxes and assoc are low, vintage has a nice pool, not sure if chardonnay does.
There is no way to give a sq ft price other than in general terms. A 1300 sq ft house and 4000 sq ft house may occupy the same size lot, there fore have different costs per sq., the larger the home, the less per square as a general rule. Single story homes usually have a higher per sq ft value as well. Land, location, view, etc. all variables, so without fairly specific info, we can’t tell you if it is a good deal or not.
