I had relatives that made, not a small fortune but a real fortune buying properties in the 1930's... the guy was a security guard!! They worked a farm for some people that were too old to work it themselves and inherited it, they had food and shelter from that gig and they invested the income from the security guard gig into farms and within their own lifetimes they had some WEALTH... she was a looker too, that always helps in life... sitting around worrying about how everybody else is doing was not their style, they just WENT FOR IT and devil take the hindmost...
All those costs of real estate can be mitigated, do your own repairs, pay cash for it, discount realtor services... it's doable and besides, you have to live somewhere, buying a house is a good way to do that, if you have to move, make sure you know local realtor and property management people so you can keep it rented...