high rent pushing geny to buy first home, page-30

"It's simply not that fluid to enter and exit the rental market."

This could potentially prove to be true for many "existing" homeowners who have alot of equity already. What if you aren't an existing homeowner, say a Gen Y? Property prices are a function of rents. If you can rent a house for half the cost of buying it, how is the price of that asset going to rise if it's not cash flow positive or even near it? You'd have to assume never ending capital growth.

Who's better off today in the US, UK, Spanish, Irish real estate market right now? The man who rented and saved the difference and can now use his saving to buy a cash flow positive property, or the one who leveraged up on multiple properties and believed in unicorns and never ending capital growth?

I'm not saying our market is heading down this path, and i personally feel everyone should strive to own their own home, but in many mkts (Victoria) it is significantly cheaper to rent the same property vs buying. What's the economic incentive to buy??