Can someone explain the housing prices in AZ?

[David L.]

I guess it's all relative since I live in southern California but I am looking at relocation to AZ and a few things are not making sense to me? 

First, why are housing prices so cheap in AZ? I don't mean just cheap compared to CA (lower COL) but I ran a mortgage calculator on some houses and it is cheaper to buy than to rent. So why would anyone in their right mind rent? I get that some people have short-term commitments, have bad credit, no cash, etc. but it seems to be that those are short obstacles. 

For example: Phoenix, Tempe ... normal 1bed apartment is around $800-900. Luxury around $1200-1500+. However, the same area I see houses as low as $120k for a 3bed/2ba. Anywhere from 120-220k. Which puts some of the cheaper ones at a mortgage payment of $800-900 with 0 down. (not saying you can get 0 down but just for math's sake) Wouldn't it make sense to just finance a house even if you're only there for a year or two? And then sell it? 

I may be missing something because I'm using Map view for the houses and because AZ seems like all the cities and areas are very close to each other (unlike texas). 

Also, north Scottsdale houses are 800-1.2mil? Why? I mean for that price you can buy a decent home in the greater los angeles area. It just seems very unbalanced.