Why can't we find a place to rent?

We've been looking for months to rent a new place because our current place is just too small. We can afford up to $1500 a month, and for what we want, that's very possible in this market. By that, I mean that we find lots of really nice places in excellent neighborhood. We're looking to rent a small house, a duplex or a townhome-- no apartments. Our credit is almost spotless (score in the low 800's). We have a perfect rental history for 20 years, good references, stable employment, ample income, very low debt/income ratio, and no criminal history.

Our problem? When we find a prospect and call on it, no one returns our calls even after multiple attempts. Or, the listing is no good or even fraudulent. Or, we actually get to view a place only to find out that it had already been rented to someone who got there first. I get the idea of first come, first served but how can we be "first" if no one calls us back? In one case, we were even discriminated against because of ethnicity-- the owner was Hispanic and we're not, and he rented to his Hispanic make-ready guy AFTER promising to show the place to us as soon as it was cleaned and ready. We saw the property as the prior tenants were moving out. We called when instructed, and the man never returned our calls for 2 weeks, Then when he did finally call back, he told us it was rented and we saw the new tenant. The place was just a block from our current home on a street that we travel daily, so we could see who moved in.

It's SO frustrating knowing that we're more than qualified for a place, but still not even having the chance to apply. We like renting and prefer not to purchase because we're older folks and don't want to be saddled with a mortgage in our 70's. Sure, we could buy but we prefer to rent. We've even sacrificed some of the things that we'd like to have just so we can find SOMETHING. And no, we don't want to live in a ghetto. We're even working with an agent and still not having ANY luck at all! It isn't as if there are no properties that become open and available-- it's that we can never, ever get hold of anyone to let us view or apply before it's already rented to someone else (who may or may not be as well-qualified as we are).

Why can't we find any suitable place to rent even though we're more than qualified? More importantly, why doesn't anyone ever call us back when we inquire about a listing or property that we've seen until weeks after the place is already rented to someone else? Also, why are there so many old or outdated listings on the rental sites?

PS: Yes, we have pets (cats), but we've been searching pet-friendly locations,,, at least, the ads say that cats are allowed and welcome. But to date, no one has asked because we haven't been able to contact much of anyone. The few that we have reached seem as if they will welcome pets and tell us what the pet deposit is. A few even said that they PREFER cats over dogs because indoor cats are small, quiet, and don't use the potty outdoors on the lawn. One place even had a closet converted to a cat "bathroom" with a flap and everything... but it got rented before we could even view it. We had an appointment but someone got it before our appointment time so that was cancelled. :(