Why not make an offer for what you can afford for your first choice house?

Why make an offer on either? Houses come on the market all the time..

Why do you need 4,000 -4,500 sq ft?

No way would I want to pay to heat and cool 4500 square feet.
Unless you have a family of 12 I don't get it.

Let's not derail the thread with speculations and judgments on why the OP wants the size of house she wants.

OP, generally builders of new constructions won't budge on the list price unless they're really worried about the market slowing down, so if it's over your budget you'll have to decide if you can swing the additional amount or not.

Don't buy a house you already know doesn't meet your needs.

If you wait a bit, more than just these two options will make themselves known so that's what I advise.

I once lived in a 5200 sq. ft. house. We were a family of 6 - parents and 4 children. Even with teenage children always bringing home friends, 5200 sq. ft. doesn't all get lived in. The entryway could be an apartment! Just plain silly and when you think of the $$ you waste on heating, not to mention energy in cleaning spaces that are rarely walked in. Never again.

My yardstick is to have a house just the size you want to clean and really enjoy living in. BUT. If you want 4500 sq. feet - go for it, silly as it is.

Some people don't need to worry about heating or cooling, also some people don't clean their house. Why make judgements about which we don't have enough information.

My advice is to let you know that no house is "perfect".

Seems to me if someone initiates a thread in which they make it a point to throw square footage figures around, they are opening themselves up to questioning.
I don't feel like anyone is "attacking" the OP, just asking the obvious question.
My two cents.

This thread could go in another complete direction.

Why do some people need a large home, and others do not? Why do some see a home under 2,000 sq ft as tiny, and others see the same house as too big?

Many will se me as odd because I have a small 1250 sq ft home which is perfect for my wife and me, but we're on 32 acres of mostly wooded property.

Maybe it's how we grew up. We boomers grew up in the quickly built subdivisions in the 50s that were basically 24 x 28 capes with 3 or 4 bedrooms and one 5 x 9 bathroom for mom, dad, and 3 kids. The lot sizes were average 50 x 100.

So why do we "need" the size house we have, or want?

Small homes forum has debated this before. Personally, I'd consider your 1250 for 2 people "large". I found, with my family, about 500sqft per person is needed to feel comfortable in a rainy climate (ie, outside time is limited). So, 1250 for 2 people is plenty; but 2000 for 5 is too small.

if you have the choice to wait, I'd wait for the perfect house. Even with the perfect house, you'll find things that aren't perfect. I certainly would not go above budget for whatever I bought.

I always find house sizes interesting. A 4500 sqft house may not be any more usable than a 4000 sqft house. It all depends on the design. My last house was 3100 sqft custom built. This one is 3800 sqft cookie cutter. The 3100 sqft was better designed and had great storage. This house has a lot of wasted space and storage leaves a lot to be desired. It was our best bang for the buck in the allotted time available for us to buy a house. In both cases, we could have gotten by with smaller houses. We went for comfort and curb appeal.

Jumping off of adellabedella's point-- as much as people desire higher end finishes and all kinds of updates, a good floor plan is something that is more intangible but ultimately is, a solid investment. When you have square footage that is utilized optimally, it is something that tends to add value that translates to not only better resale value but enhances day to day living. A superior floor plan is something that is the epitome of a "good bang for the buck".

Wow guess I shouldn't have posted the sqftage. ( new at this). Really wanted to chat with "faceless" friends. Thanks for all the good points.
I guess my real question/ dilemma is ---buy a house( Stacy)with a not so great floor plan in an area I had really been looking at or buy this gorgeous house I really love in a close by area which works as well. Went to see Stacy again after it was officially listed and not impressed with regards to the finishing and details. Think Stacy is overpriced by about 30%.
Now the above budget house (Fran) is a far more detailed and spec house and they are listed for 100k diff!.
So I will put in an offer for Fran within my budget and keep my fingers crossed.
Mmmbeer,jewel654,cmarlin:- tks for tips.

Good luck with Fran!

For what it's worth, I'm trying to sell a 1,700 square foot house and people keep saying it's "too small." People are still really interested in having a large house.

Sounds like Fran is the way to go.

I think what's considered too small/too big also depends on the area. In my area there is a shift towards smaller houses with higher end finishes.

Why can't you get a different builder to build your originally planned nearly 4000 sf colonial?