So many people renting their whole lives sounds to me like in Germany most properties are owned by a privileged few and the remaining being forced to be their tennants. Does nobody see anything wrong with that? Rent control laws don't make this OK in my book.

Well there are indeed many people who call for expropriation now.

https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/civey-umfrage-fuer-den-ta...

If you're asking for my opinion residential real estate should be publicly owned, like hospitals, transport infrastructure, (public) schools/universities, etc.

Or at the very least the land under it should never be sold, only leased from the state.

Yes, consolidations on the market are a thing with an additional side effect - as owning a property is professonalized it’s even more difficult and expensive for an individual to own.