Lack of demand. People tend to want to be where people are already at.

Even if they are cheap ( relatively speaking )? I read housing price in US is skyrocketing in every state ( or at least the media posed it as such )

Skyrocketing where people want to live. It is really hard to transfer demand from Hugh demand areas to low demand areas. It’s not like Toledo Ohio is going to be a hot market again anytime soon, but there is interest in butte Montana (and also a lack of housing).