I realise this is probably one of those "how long is a piece of string" questions.
In our area there is nothing much available and our dream house has just been sold to someone who sold their house before we managed to, and I despair of finding another house we love as much.
I suppose we could rent for a while when we sell our current house. Have any of you done this, and been patient until the right house came along? The problem is I am impatient! But we want to buy a big wreck and then not move again for 20 years: it needs to be big and in the right location, but we don't mind if it needs tons of work.