Actually, it's been done to death. The rent to own ratio is very distorted in certain cities such as Toronto and Vancouver, A canny renter can do far better than the  blind purchaser, and in those cities is probably the smarter one.   

I will argue that the renter can be wise enough to invest the difference. I do, and this lady clearly does as well. 

If real estate is cheap then buying is worthwhile, but if you're buying a 400k condo with 100k down, your monthly cost of 300 strata + 200 taxes + 700 in interest on the 300k + 500 in opportunity cost on the 100k downpayment ... that's 1700 dollars in "canceled cheques" every month, whereas you can get a decent apartment at eg Bathurst and Eglinton (nice area, btw), for maybe 1200, 1400 per month. At the end, you don't end up with "nothing". You end up with a large pile of wealth generating liquid assets, instead of a money pit house that is constantly deteriorating on your dime.