system
A chat on subreddit /r/wallstreetbets
human
You are missing that the supply is being artificially dried up by non owner occupants driving up both purchase and rent prices in favor of making a profit. Just like every other sector, prices are being driven by corporate greed which is getting in they way of a functioning market leading to overinflated prices.

 This is all due to lack of enforcement in antitrust (antimonopoly) law and taxation on profits/ capital gains. If profits &amp; capital gains were taxed the way they should be companies would find better things to do with their capital instead of dole it out to executives &amp; shareholders because none of them (company, executives or shareholders) would want to pay taxes. Since they aren't taxed properly &amp; are allowed to have defacto monopolies they just jack up prices &amp; siphon profits out of the company into their pockets tax free. Why not? There's no incentive not to.
gpt
If people were buying homes and not renting them this would be true. 

This would also be true if it were a monopoly situation.

But I don’t believe it’s either…and this supply is still the problem.