The rental market is decoupled from the ownership market. This hasn't been an issue for a while because multi-family had not been built up enough (i.e. there had always been an apartment shortage, especially after the GFC), but given that the US is building these more than ever [0], this is going to become clear in the very near future. There is a carrying cost to an empty unit, and price will likely reduce to get someone into a unit. Unless there are significant job losses that push people out of their ~3% mortgages and into the rental market, this may persist for quite a while. Anecdotally, in my VHCOL city that built out these ugly 5-over-1s like crazy in the past couple of years, most are offering multiple months of free rent just to get units to be occupied.
Also, while it is true that these irrecoverable costs are "included" in the rent, what is not included in the rent is the time machine to go back in time to purchase a property before the pandemic. This means one's landlord can cover these irrecoverable costs with the rent, plus the mortgage (if any), and still make a profit, all while having the total rent be less than the total irrecoverable cost if one were to buy the same thing today. Anecdotally, this is the exact dynamic I've observed in colleagues and friends who have bought houses in the usual VHCOL tech cities (Seattle, Austin, Bay Area); it's possible to rent a similar house for vastly less money per month.
But yes, as a renter, one always has to be ready to make good on the "threat" to move out at the end of a lease, which is difficult to time and tiring to have to execute upon :(