Is real estate investing just like a new gold rush?

[Daniel S.]

It seems every 'financial freedom' or 'financial independence' podcast and blog recommends people to own real estate to attempt to get cash flow out of it.  But how long can this continue?  Property values have risen quite a bit over the past few years so anyone getting in the game at this point is going to have a harder time finding a property that will cash flow.  

If more and more people attempt to house-hack and have roommates or air-bnb or buy multi-families then supply of housing options will expand so much for renters and travelers that prices will invariably come down.  

In the gold rush the pioneers that arrived first and staked out the best spots made the best money.  Then when the news broke to everyone else there was a flood of newcomers most of which did not experience even close to the same level of success.  The people who were able to make money were the ones selling supplies and tools to the prospectors.  That's what bigger pockets is doing, they are  profiting off the process of getting more and more people into this game, but the more people that get in the less profitable the game will be.  

Combine this with the fact that technology will continue to displace people out of careers and even more people will want in on the passive income action. 

In the end the owners of bigger pockets will have made a boatload and won't care, but how does that shake out for people who are just trying to start out?

I'd love responses refuting my points so that we can get a good debate going.  Responses to the tune of 'well no one will get anywhere with that attitude' are not what I'm looking for.  I actually like the space currently and have recently invested, but I'm analytical and like to try and predict how things might play out.