> But in my price-range of homes, that's fairly likely to be ~required anyway.
TTBOMK, there is nowhere in the US that an HRV or ERV is required by code [1], regardless of the price range. There are a lot of very expensive homes built with no thought to indoor air quality.
In many places in the US, due to higher air-tightness requirements, mechanical ventilation is required, but that can be as minimal as having bath fans and a kitchen extractor fan.
1. Ontario CA requires them on new builds https://www.huskyair.com/blog/newsflash-ontario-is-making-hr.... Maybe Germany also?