This is one of the reasons that Germany housing policy is so successful: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/#1ef0063ebb2d

In the US, housing is treated as an asset, which is a huge mistake. In place like Germany, most people are renters because: rents stay fairly low, the government reassesses population periodically to allow more houses to get built, and renters have plenty of rights. Here, we allow houses to act as a hybrid place to live, ATM, and stock.