Wellll.....there's middle-class and then there's middle-class. In the SF Bay Area, $1M+ homes are middle-class. Upscale is roughly in the $2.5M+ area. Really high-end goes $5M+, but that's due to amount of land, not really size of house. So it depends on where you are, as usual. I'd decide based on what your buyer market is looking for. Many first-time homeowners love wood, then discover it's more long-term maintenance than they thought. It's not so simple to move all your stuff out of half the house to have the floors rescreened, once you've been in there for 10 yrs or so! Most busy, stressed, family-juggling homeowners are fine with the idea of lower maintenance as long as the good looks are still there - and I can honestly say, having just installed $10K worth of Mannington Adura LVP, it is MUCH harder to tell the difference these days between it and real hardwood (which we have in the rest of the house: original 1940's wide-plank oak with walnut plugs). Your decision. I'd trust a good local RE pro. Get a couple of opinions, and then decide.

The backing is cork so I am not surprised by a vapor barrier requirement. We are having it put down throughout our new home and will be glad to be 100% tile and grout free for the first time in our lives :) I have some old samples that I've tried to damage. It is very difficult to scratch or gouge, the only way I was able to pit it was to take a decent swing at it with a sharp tool that had some weight to it. Makes me wonder if we'll even want or need to fuss around with felt pads under everything (they seem to be magnets for dirt, hair, fur, or whatever floats around before you have a chance to sweep it up.)

We have calypso oak installed in our house and we love it. We have lived here (a renovation) for 3 weeks now, and really like the way it looks. It's really easy to clean, it looks beautiful, and feels great. We were hesitant to install this type of floor because we had read reviews from many about a tendency for this LVP product to have a sandy or cracking noise when stepped on. We do not have that problem, and we have read that this is an installation issue (dependent upon the cleanliness of the sub floor or the type of subfloor installed below it?). Regardless, we do not have this issue and we are so lucky to have listened to the store we were buying it from (who had never heard of this issue with this product). If you like the way it looks, I recommend installing this product.

Installing hardwood in Florida takes extra effort. The first part of that effort is having EXCELLENT humidity control in the home. In hot, humid climates that means the A/C might not be enough. It might require an additional whole-home dehumidifier. It can also rule out an 'open window' type of home. Again, it depends on the location and the humidity levels. Hardwoods must be kept in a 'happy humidity' range between 45% - 60%. At all times. Every minute of every day. For ever and ever. And ever and ever. That means you will spend more on your HVAC system to have that type of 'push button' control (whole home humidifier/dehumidifier). And then the type of build also dictates the best practice for installation of hardwoods. A concrete slab takes extra effort to glue down wood. A high-end adhesives must be used and those add $2-$3/sf...just for the glue. The hardwood and labour are on top of that. In Florida, the most appropriate floors are stone, tile, terrazzo or concrete. All of which are hard and cold. Of course a cool floor in a hot climate is a BENEFIT...not a drawback. Part of the cold flooring is it helps keep the house feeling cool. Vinyl is then the next option. The difference between the 'wood look' or the stone/tile look is simply aesthetics. If you LIKE the look of wood, then go for it. If you LIKE the look of stone/tile, then go for it. With vinyl you will require very good UV block on your windows. Ask your builder what level you have on your windows right now. You will want to find something with UV block ABOVE 50%. I prefer to see 70% - 75%. That keeps the vinyl and the house cool. But it also makes growing indoor plants a difficulty. Plants struggle with UV blocking windows at 70% or higher.