Home prices in the suburbs have gotten out of control

I thought it was supposed to be cheaper than living in the city. Feels like you need at least 300k minimum to find something decent that isn’t in a declining area. I know that’s not as bad as other places, but that’s still hella expensive for a place like Houston. When I say 300k is the min, it’s for a bare minimum okay house, but if you want something a little bigger (but not like McMansion sized) you’re more likely going to have to pay 400k+.

That’s also another issue I have tbh. Why does it feel like most of what gets built these days are huge McMansions with two square feet of back or frontyard to their name. There are barely any reasonably sized homes with small but not ridiculously small backyards.