I’ve seen this argument made by right wing economic ‘think tanks’ like the IEA and I’m not convinced, either by the reasoning or the quality of the data that’s supposed to support it. If being able to charge extortionate rent was the only way to make a profit from building houses then house building would have correlated negatively with affordable rents, which AFAIK is the opposite to the historic reality, at least here in the UK. As long as there are people who need a house to live in there will be always be demand for housing; it’s just a question of who gets to own the houses. Is it people who are living in them or people who are charging others to live in them? Right now there is a rich minority who are able to buy more and more houses because a poor majority are paying them such high rent and are thus prevented from ever saving enough for a deposit and competing in the property market. That’s why inequality is compounding.
I think it’s easier to stay motivated when you have contact with other people. Even the OU recognises this and tries to incorporate meetups or at least video conferences.