I bought my house (suburb of Seattle) for $300k seven years ago. It's been feeling pretty small lately, so I occasionally check Zillow to see what's on the market. I can't find anything within a reasonable commute (~45 minutes) to work without paying at least $800k, and even then, it's usually a derelict property that probably will need to a few hundred thousand more to bring it up to par.

My three options seem to be:

1. Live with the small house (and awesomely small principal) we have, at least until the bubble bursts 2. Suck it up and pay a ton of money 3. Move far from Seattle.

I'd actually love option 3, but with established relationships in the area, it's not a great option socially for the family.