I rented the first year I was married. A nicer 1 Bedroom w/ den for $825 in 1999. I managed to get my first house payment down to that much including taxes/insurance before I upgraded last year.

Cope, my starter home in Sterling Heights was on the market for <2 weeks last May. It isn't all bad, but the $300k+ homes are taking a beating. Everything worked out well for me to take advantage of that.

 

I rent a 1600 square foot house at the beach.
Comparable house values in the area are $850K.
I pay $1750 in rent...this is unusual, though.
Typical rents are much higher.

In CA, where rents can be 1/4 the cost of a mortgage, and home prices falling, renting makes sense in a lot of areas.

That being said, I own several homes that I rent to tenants.