Then in The Netherlands, on average prices of houses go up. Fast enough even that for most people it is very hard to save enough money each year to even keep up with the housing prices.
Then we get to the point that with a mortgage, part you pay is interest, that money is lost, just like rent. But in part you repay the mortgage. That stays in your pocket. So even if the cost of renting is the same as the mortgage plus taxes and other costs, then the mortgage is still cheaper.
If you want to buy a house and you are currently renting then you are competing with people who see the value of their current house go up, and the part of the house that they own went up because they repaid part of the mortgage for some years. This makes it almost imposible to compete if you have been renting for a long time.
Obviously, there can be local market where the demand for houses is low enough, that renting a house can be attractive.
The renters do pay. It's included in the rent. Unless you think the landlords are, everywhere, happily making a loss?
And in HCOL places it’s not unusual for the landlord to not break even on a new purchase when you add up all the costs. Price appreciation (hopefully) makes up the difference.
You must have had incredibly unlucky house purchases.