Yes, unfortunately inner-city or central houses/townhomes are unfordable for most people. To me, I would much rather be central part of town and buy older and renovate than to buy new-build in the 'burbs, but that's not really possible.
I drove around this weekend and stopped at many homes/townhomes that had a for sale sign on the lawn and that were pretty central. Unfortunately, even though many of them were small and very old needing much repairs, all the prices were in the $600-800K range.