It also helps a lot if you're cool with picking a house that isn't in the middle of the United State's most popular cities. As best I can tell, demand for property in San Francisco, Manhattan, etc has never been higher. The affordable homes of yore were not located in Times Square.
I have a friend who has a huge apartment on W 47th street, complete with a good sized backyard, but because of the location, the rent is surprisingly reasonable. That's obviously an exceptional case, but there are also pretty good restaurants on 9th ave, and great access to all the subway lines.