Starting out in Deal Analysis - Need help to make sense long term rent comp

[Jiang Hua Choong]

Hello hive mind and fellow biggerpocketers,

I am ready to jump into LTR REI and need some help in establishing/understanding the long term rent $. I've been using rent estimator from multiple websites (rentometer, affordable housing, zillow, rent.com) to run the numbers, and in need of help to make sense of the high rent. I own my house and has been out of the rental market for a while now, but the rent $ comp I've found doesn't make sense. Why would someone be willing to rent at 2.5-3k for a 3/2 when they could buy/own it?

Is there a better source to look for rent comps?
Thank you.