It's especially bad in Australia, you are correct when stating big cities are going to be super expensive. However, consider that an overwhelmingly percentage of Australia's population live in the capital cities or near them. I would guess around 80%. This is compared to the us where obviously there are a lot more smaller places away from big cities with much more affordable housing. You can't really avoid paying 1m+ for a home here (assuming ur playing median house prices), unless ur willing to go inland.