I think there is some truth to that. I'm a landlord and have never seen the rental market this hot as I have the last five years or so. Not many people are interested in owning a home today. It's kind of like a new trend.
The last apartment I advertised was exactly three years ago. Usually in the winter, you get very few replies because most people move in the spring. However that time, I had over a dozen in my mail the next day; some of them saying they will take the place sight unseen.
In California, they were proposing a rent limit because landlords were taking so much advantage of the market. Unlike when I was younger, the American dream is no longer owning your own house. It's renting now.