Not that I disagree with your point, but to finish the conclusion: in the rent scenario you save $12k a year, or about 1.4% of the purchase price.

As the return on investing that $12k will be so low (in dollar terms), it is perfectly rational to own if you believe the condo will increase in value by even a little more than 1.4% per year. And as our government goes out of its way to prop prices up, that seems like a safe assumption over the long term.