It seems that some of the people are assuming that the monthly rent is cheaper than the monthly payments for a house.

That is not true everywhere, say, for instance, where I live in Pittsburgh. My wife and I rented an apartment when we were first married for $650/month (heat/water/sewer included). It was a "two" bedroom apartment, where I called it a living room and a bedroom, and then a decently sized kitchen/dining room (for a one floor apartment).

We bought a house a year later, and the payment on the mortgage (15 year) was $379. Taxes and insurance brought it up to $479. I'll guess a little on the utilities, but I think our current monthly average is $50/electric, $100/gas and $40/water/sewer. Electricity wasn't included in our rent, so the house payment comes in less than the rent. We haven't had any significant maintenance issues, though we have only been here 5 years. The house is now paid off, so we now pay very little per month.

And if you believe the real estate estimates (and other house sales in the area) the house has gone up quite a bit in value (new hospital in the area).

We aren't planning on sell if/when we move, but will likely rent it out, since renting an entire house should probably provide a decent income.

Talking to a friend in Seattle, she said the rental rates were about the same, but the house costs were 2 to 3 times higher, so I guess it depends on what area of the country you are in.