searching houses

I have been searching for a place to live for purchase purposes(for the purpose of purchasing). At first, I searched for a new place to rent. But my wife and I realized that the monthly rent is too high and It's kind of throwaway money. It's literally a waste of money. That's why I'm consider buying a new house. Instead of spending money on rent, make it pay for mortgage and interests. money could be used for mortgage.

Based on online mortgage calculator, the monthly mortgage payment for $550,000 with 20 years armortization period is around $2500, which is my current monthly rent. It means I can buy a $550K house with my rent. If I increase my down payment, then i can buy a more expensive house too. I think it surely justify our home buying plan. 

our criteria are the following:

1. more than 1000 sqft. my wife likes large spaces.
2. commute time to downtown should be within an hour. 
3. a good secondary school for my son.

I've already visited several houses with/without a realtor. The most satisfying home among them is the one in the Burke mountain in Coquitlam. 3bed room town house is around $800K. It's 3 floors and 1500 sqrt. It has side by side(double) garage on the first floor, which I like a lot. It's like my dream home in Canada. but the commute to downtown could be waste of time. It takes around 1.5 hours, which is unacceptable. 

I'm keep looking at online house listing sites and will contact another realtor soon. I hope I can find the right house for our family.