Align house with priorities. Similar to talltexan, we saw a 400 or 450k house on the search for our current one (260k). The 400 had granite counters and all the fancy-fancy-fancypants. Including a 6-room master bedroom suite including walk in closet, powder room, bathroom, office, 2nd closet/gym, and of course the bedroom itself. But the kitchen, despite the granite was not well designed. There was too little counter space, it didn't have power in the right locations for appliances, there wasn't a lot of storage, etc. It was really for show and for reheating takeout, not cooking. Similar, there was a formal dining room that wasn't sized to hold more than a 4-seat table.
Our current house has tons of counter and cabinet space. No, it isn't granite (although it is marble, which I'm not super fond of either). But the layout is good and there's tons of power available. The dining room isn't formal, it is open to the living room but in addition to the usual 6-person table we can shift stuff and squeeze, add a card table, and seat 10 if they are friendly. Thanksgiving with both sets of parents, plus an uncle or two? Yes, please.
Being less expensive was just a side-benefit, to be honest.
That said, if I buy a house 25 years down the line, um, yeah, I expect to spend twice as much on it. 3% inflation will do that.