Comment by Manuel_D

> There is a gap between how much the renters could conceivably pay and the minimum for which the house could be built and maintained. The actual price will be somewhere between the two.

No, not necessarily. If there's enough competition for renters, then the homeowner may have to rent at a loss. Renting at a loss is still preferable to no collecting rent at all. Getting $90 on a $100 investment is bad, but better than getting $0 on a $100 investment.