Here's articles about the housing in Detriot, they are really terrible... Terrible.. Reason why they are so cheap because there is too high crimes, too low jobs available, etc.
Many Detroit foreclosure homes cheaper than cars at Foreclosure.com Blog
Houses Cost Less Than Cars in Detroit - Associated Content
Houses cheaper than cars in Detroit
But........
California is not like that. California have awesome ecomonic system, probably the best around US, which mean have good jobs, low crimes, etc.
RealEstateJournal | Orange County Ranks No. 2 On Most Expensive List
If you read this article carefully, you will catch "Ecomonic Boom". That is why California is so expensive.