Margie and John Stites were picking out tile, carpet and hardware finishes for a new 3,000-square-foot home here three years ago when Margie Stites came to a startling realization. “We’d already put a $17,000 deposit down, but I didn’t want to have another house again,” said Stites, a 56-year-old freelance writer. “I cried for three days, it was ...