Should you be paying $1600 to rent a studio??

I'm aware that rent prices in Washington are expensive, but I just ran a search for a client looking for studios in the Logan Circle/Thomas Circle area and they ranged from 1525-1850/month!

The price of studio apartments for SALE however, has stayed fairly constant and prices have come down as investors have been forced out of the market (investor mortgage rates for condos are not good right now). For example, click below for pics of this studio at 14th and N, just north of Thomas Circle and a hop away from Whole Foods, Logan Circle, and DuPont. It is listed at $185,000 with a $365 condo fee that covers ALL utilities. The building also has a pretty awesome rooftop pool so if any of my friends want to buy this and invite me over, let me know.
http://slideshow.mris.com/slideshow.cfm?ListingKey=90010683489

Here's the breakdown if you rent: you pay $1500 ($1530 with renters insurance) which goes up 3% a year, by year five you pay $1718/month for that same studio. This is not including utilities. After five years you have given your landlord or building $97,340.

Here's the breakdown if you buy: The condo at 1440 N Street mentioned above costs $185,000 if you put 10% down, your monthly mortgage payment (at the FHA rate of 6%) is $998 and your monthly taxes, utilities, insurance and homeowner dues work out to about $675. A total monthly expense of $1674, about the same as the $1530 plus utilities.

In this case, you're also saving on taxes because your mortgage interest (which is almost your entire payment for the first few years of any loan) and real estate taxes are tax deductible, which means you keep more of your paycheck, making it easier to make that $1675 payment every month. In a few years when you are ready to move up, you can sell the condo or keep it as an investment property and let a renter pay your mortgage.

If anyone out there is curious about how these numbers would look for a different rent vs. buy situation, let me know and I'll calculate it out for you!