House Hunting Update

For anyone that cares, here's where we currently stand in our search for our first house.
House # 1 : Beautiful house with lots of character and square footage. Highlights include very private yard, gourmet kitchen, and almost-too-big master suite with the biggest walk-in and bathroom I've ever seen. Cons include location (a bit off the beaten path in Wilmington, but that means it's insanely private!) and the price tag.
Actions Taken: Offered a low ball figure a week ago which was met with a un-helpful counter. It has been on the market for almost 300 days, but clearly they aren't yet ready to play ball. It is worth the listing price, so we're worried it will get snatched out from under us. It is Anthony's favorite house though, so I think we'll make another higher offer.

House # 2 : We're meeting with a builder tonight on a new construction in Wilmington. For some reason, it is significantly cheaper than almost all the other houses we've seen. We just had a great experience with another builder who would let us customize the whole house as he builds it, so we're hoping this guy is like that too.
Actions Taken: Assuming we like the builder, the lot, and the floor plan, this is my favorite option. I would like to be able to move into a perfectly clean house and not have to clean up others' messes before making it my home. Also, it would already have the colors and appliances and everything we want. Even at the listed price, we could afford to spend a bit in updates if we wanted to.

House # 3 : We've only seen the pictures, but I have found my dream home. Unfortunately the night before we were to see it, an offer was accepted. About 20% of offers fall through in this economy, so our broker is going to follow up this week to see if we have a shot. It has window seats, a spiral iron staircase, a gourmet kitchen, and a beautiful backyard.
Actions Taken: Much crying and hopeful waiting! :)

House # 4 : We have seen probably about 40-50 houses now, and almost all are not good for us because of either the floor plan or the price tag. However, we finally found one we can work with. It has a decent backyard with a pool and already built bar (!!). The floor plan works and it quite spacious. Cons are mostly some fixes we'd have to make and we're not sure we want to do that for this price tag. The master bathroom has lavender facilities and the pool would need a new liner, but it is the lowest price we've seen on a house we like, so it could definitely work.
Actions Taken: None yet - waiting to decide about houses 1-3 yet.

In short, this has been a frustrating experience. We don't want a starter home that we'd have to sell in 5-10 years, so we're looking for a house we can grow old in. However, the economy hasn't totally affected this area yet so prices are still high. After making an offer on house #1, I kind of panicked about the monthly mortgage payment and the upkeep, so I wouldn't mind staying in our carefree apartment another year. However, the tax credit and interest rates are unbeatable so its tough to make an argument for not buying this year.