I think you are onto the answer.
Regular rent has skyrocketed due to the eviction moratoriums which represents an illegal taking of private property and rights thereof. A multitude of mom and pop landlords have been forced into foreclosure or are selling to get out of the biz. Property taxes and insurance have skyrocketed as well as maintenance costs (no moratorium on those).
What’s left is high priced Blackrock style rental properties.
Problem is the mom and pop segment were the most “affordable” rentals and often would give leniency (mostly unjustified) to the deadbeat tenants they housed for practically free throughout the scamdemic.
I am sure there are videos. If you happen to be in the bay area drive the El Camino Real. Miles and miles of RVs parked along the road. Especially around Stanford. Where I live there are hundreds in the vacant properties and BLM land.