I felt the same way until I started digging into real estate back in 2008. In the US we can buy a house with as little as 3.5% downpayments.

That being said, since I've started investing, I have learned how to buy real estate without using my own money and typically stick to the kind of deals that are based on the Assets cashflow itself and the Asset being purchased low enough under market value that the banks won't require a downpayment.

This is typically only possible on Cashflowing properties like Commercial real estate and commercial/residential properties.

Look up Asset-Based Lending or seller Financing. I'll likely write a post about creative financing strategies in the future thanks to your comment. Thanks for dropping this one in!