[jodi]

I live and sell real estate in upstate NY - and $300k will get you a very big, new house around me. $150-200k will be more than enough to get a great house around here (Syracuse area). Not sure where you are looking though - it you are looking within a closer range to NJ/NYC, then I am sure houses will be selling for much higher.
When my brother bought his house, he was able to put 10% down and get a piggyback loan for 10% and his mortgage was for 80%, as a previous poster suggested. This saved him from having to pay PMI, although the piggyback loan was at a higher interest rate. There are a lot of creative options, but I always advise the people I work with not to get the absolute most expensive house they can afford or else they may find themselves "house poor" - in other words, have a gorgeous house without the money to keep it up. Just my two cents...good luck!