The median price per square foot in the US is $226[0]. The insanely economically depressed rust belt area where I was born has a median price over $150 per square foot (you do _not_ want to live there). I suspect your mental model of housing prices is anchored in the past when the world has moved on.

[0]: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEDLISPRIPERSQUFEEUS