"For what you pay in rent you could own the house"

[Patrick M.]

I lost some sleep last night.  I'm having problems renting my SF.  The price is now at 1850 plus utilities.  

The argument often heard is "well you can own a home for what you're paying in rent."  So I wanted to look at some numbers.  

My SF is worth 245-250k.  at 3.5% down (the famous it's cheap to buy a house you only need a little money) you need 9k cash.  (without closing costs).  
Your mortgage is still 1730.  plus utilities and maintenance.  
As the story goes the more cash you have to pay down the lower you get your mortgage payment.  

My point is the famous 3.5% down puts a person in the same range as my rent price.  Without the maintenance costs.  

Is renting supposed to be drastically MORE affordable than buying?  As in rent price at 1650? 1700? 1500? for a single family in a B area.  Are they supposed to be renting a nice updated home for significantly cheaper than the cost to own?

Keep in mind the house is updated which is hard to come by at this price point in our area.