> There is no landlord renting at a loss.

Actually not true. Landlords are just as susceptible to speculation as everyone else and just as capable of not doing the math as everyone else. There are plenty of landlords who are taking a loss on the monthly rent compared to their mortgage bill because they can't find anyone to rent at a price where they would break even on the mortgage, and refuse to sell because they're speculating that housing prices will rise faster than their losses, and/or that the losses are simply part of the cost of building equity.