We've started from scratch twice.You most likely will be outpaced by the market.
Best to suck it up, get on the ladder and start (climbing) now!
Then I'm sure you will get what you want, eventually.
It's what we did and we just sold off the "old dog" late last year for a great price.
That place was the cornerstone in our early investing years, we did everything possible to grab it and build equity and then borrow to the hilt for more IP's.
Now we have options and have decided to use PPOR as cornerstone.
But without buying that "dog" I seriously think we would still be renting and whingeing about property being too expensive.
The first was a really crappy home in a crappy area. Lived there for around 8 years, then lost it due to a failed Business.
Second home, hubby was working in Sydney, so rented near to work. Looking to buy a home & could easily have afforded a place nearby in a new sub-division, but we were spending a lot of money on sport & didn't want to compromise this (high level athletes)
So.....bought in Lethbridge park, miles away from work, a crappy home in a crappy area. Stayed there for 7 years. Upgraded PPOR about 5 years ago now. An older but nice home in a much better suburb but still the long commute. But that's fine because Hubby won't be doing it for much longer.