Do you actually have any evidence this is true in "most" markets? It seems like only in a few markets around highly-desirable cities is this true. Farms don't sound like they're going to be representative of the types of housing that most people are looking for.
I'm 45 minutes south of Seattle and I purchased a large house with a backyard, recent-ish construction, no contingencies waived, for less than what a 500sqft loft is going for in Seattle.
I put farm in quotes because they are intentionally mining the land of all long term fertility - not a problem as it won't be farmed in a few years anyway, but if you intended to farm for more than 10 years then proper care for the land will ensure better profits of the wrong run.
There's a reason Bill Gates is the nation's biggest farmer.
I study the RE market in several places that I am connected to every day - I watch houses come on the market, and are under deposit within days. I feel really bad for young people looking to buy their first place (including my kids) - they can't pay cash, and they are on a budget - they have almost zero real options other than to continue to rent and wait for a RE crash. IMO, it's coming, but who knows when.
The only reason there are any decently priced houses where I am is that a lot of them are over 100 years old and some of the school systems are so bad even our current asset bubble can't make families want to live there. (So no point in buying to rent out for twice the mortgage because no family is paying 2000/mo for a house in a school district with a math proficiency rate of 15%.)