I have lived in Sunny Hills since 98. Love the neighborhood so much that I recommended it to my parents as the place for their retirement. They bought a place in 2001.
Sunny Hills is a rather unique neighborhood in that most of the residents are old-timers; many of them have lived here for 20, 30, even 40 years. I've been here for 11 years and I'm considered a newbie. Most people who move here love it and just stay until they die or have to move into an old folks home. So houses typically come on the market due to these events. There are now younger families moving in as the old residents move on, but these families stay long-term for the same reasons: great schools, big lots, a rustic environment in the midst of cookie-cutter suburbia. This is not to say that there were no flippers who moved in during the housing bubble and tried to flip for a quick buck. There were but they were exceptions rather than the rule, so you didn't see a lot of outrageous appreciations or WTF prices that you found in places like Irvine.
When I bought my place back in 98, the price of an average house was around half a mil (for that you get half an acre lot, typically 2000-3000 sqft, 35-40-year-old house). At the height of the bubble in 2006 the same house would have sold for $1.2 million. The price has come dowe quite a bit since then; I would say that the average house now sells in the $800k-$900k range. There are also quite a number of knocked-down MacMansions, and they go for much more depending on their specs. IMO, for $950k you can easily get what you're looking for. Personally I think it's more important to get a house with a good lot (shape, size, elevation relative to your neighbors, contour---this makes a difference as it determines how much of your half-acre lot is actually usable); after you get the ideal lot you can always do your own re-modeling or additions to get the house the way you want.
I don't think the house price will ever get back down to the $500k level back in 98, but it certainly has room to fall and may eventually settle down at around $700k-$800k. But the neighborhood is very desirable due to the big lot, the great schools, the Laguna Lake Park and many miles of hiking and biking trails, plus an equestrian facility nearby, and there are always people who want to move in due to these factors. It certainly won't hurt to wait but even now the market is pretty brisk; most houses, if they are appropriately priced, sell very quickly, so there isn't a huge inventory that you can pick and choose from.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you need more info.