It’s hard to stop playing with the New York Times‘s wizzy new rent vs. buy calculator, a freebie thrown in with a story urging (maybe a little late?) caution to would-be NYC condo or co-op buyers. Of course, the market’s different here, which is why the somewhat hidden settings on the calculator are appreciated: Click on the little question mark next to the words “Monthly Rent” at the top left, and you’ll unearth a secret tab where you can select average Houston data. Or plug in all the numbers from your recent decision, and see what horrible assumptions you made. Addictive!

(Via Tom at Houston’s Clear Thinkers, who points to some analysis of the calculator by Felix Salmon.)

• Is It Better To Buy or Rent? [New York Times]
• A Word of Advice During a Housing Slump: Rent [New York Times]