Housing is a fundamental human right. Exploiting the hardships of housing and profiting from it is simply unacceptable. The system is certainly pushing people in this direction. The system should be able to intervene when necessary. For example, a heavier tax burden should be imposed on those who own more than one home in the same city. This would reduce housing prices, even if only slightly, and enable those who don't have homes to afford them.
Perhaps what should happen is a flat income tax for everyone, but investment tax should be at the very least as high as income tax, if not higher. There should be more incentive to make money from work and spend money, then to get passive income.