There is no difference in payments from Mortgage - rent..... renting a house will give you a higher payment then buying the same house, condo etc.

If you buy a 100K house your mortgage will be the same ballpark as apartment rent but:

you will make 3-5K a year in equity
you will get most of your payment back come tax time.
you will save money on future finance purchases due to interest rate and + credit.
It is easy to rent it to somone else for more than the current mortgage if you move.
You actually own something