Housing prices represent a tradeoff between affordability and desirability in most cases (with a major aspect of desirability being access to desirable employment).

It's not hard at all to compare property prices in NYC to Alabama using a cost of living index (and to some extent a quality of life index, though these are fairly subjective).

People are voting with their feet every day, and they largely aren't moving because they are looking for a decrease in their standard of living.

Many, many, many people think NYC, SF, Vancouver etc. are shitholes. The good news is that people are currently allowed to choose where their surroundings look like, though many politicians and bureaucrats seem hell-bent on changing that. And now we're back at the start of this discussion...