Husband (28M) and I (35F) bought a house in Middletown in 2020 for $278k. 3 bed / 2 ba, 1900 sq feet when you include the finished basement, on a nice half acre that backs up to some woodlands.

We put ~14k (5%) down. Combined income was $140k/y. No kids, no other debt - we cleared the last of his college debt in 2019. We've put about $40k into the house for improvements (central air, electrical upgrades, kitchen, garage door, redo the stair to the basement, etc).

Currently pay about $1750/mo for mortgage, taxes, and insurance. Just wiggled out from under the $50/mo PMI due to market increases, which is a great feeling.

Honestly we only won the bid for this house because for some bizarre reason it was listed at ~$240k even though we knew after a walkthrough it would appraise in the $275k range. So, we were competing with people trying to get it at the $240k price point instead of the price point we were offering. Just lucked out.