We can afford almost anything now. How do we figure out how much house is actually right?
Work backward from the week, not forward from the number. For most of your life, the budget made this decision for you. Now nothing pushes back — and that's exactly when people overbuy. Rooms for a life they don't live. Acreage that becomes a second job.
So inventory the actual week. Who's in the house, and how often? What do you cook, host, store, fix? How much home do you want to maintain — or manage someone else maintaining? A home you grow into is a plan. A home that needs you to become a different person to justify it is a burden with nice finishes.
The right size is the one your real life fills. Run the Vibe Match tool to sort what you want from what you've been told to want. Then walk me through the week, and I'll show you what fits it.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.