If school district becomes a real requirement, we could consider

• option: other states — https://tanbinvest.dreamhosters.com/2017/07/14/consider-cheaper-states-better-for-my-kids/
• option: rent for long term, as Jack suggested
• option: condo would be cheaper than SFH
• option: some homes are less popular for any reason. Perhaps I don’t mind it. My 2 HDB choices were like that. Alok said there are some school district homes for $300k!