re: In the market for a house...

Congrats on being financially responsible people. Obviously you are very conservative spenders and likely reasonably frugal without being cheap in a bad way.

With that said I have a feeling your personality would likely be suited for being able to buy a fixer upper and remodeling a house that does not currently fit your needs/ wants but could do that with some work.

If this works for you then there are several benefits you could see. Lower purchase price which then has lower property tax and lower insurance. Then as your rehab/remodel you add feature you want and at the same time likely get tax rebates for new energy efficiency items.

Older fixer uppers could be a way to get into nice older established neighborhoods that may not be affordable as move in ready. If you go this route, develop.a.plan and do not move in until your main areas of comfort are ready to move in. Ie, master bedroom, master bath, main living area. The kitchen if serviceable can be attacked later as you want once you start using it and seeing how you would want it to function for you.

Also, you have lots of discretionary income currently going to investment accounts. Those funds can be scaled back to fund your remodel projects as the house should also be viewed as part of your investments.