The Sacramento Bee reports on the rent 'standoff.' "Bring on the moving vans. Renters rule the market, at least for now. By most accounts, capital-area renters are only months away from the ascending prices. 'You haven't had the strong rent growth yet. It is coming,' said Greg Willett, as apartment industry consultant."

"When, exactly, is still anyone's guess."

"More owners are now missing mortgage payments, a phenomenon expected to push more owners into foreclosure sales and back to renting. In recent years up to three-fourths of area buyers have used adjustable rate mortgages, and many struggle now with rising payments tied to interest rate increases. Area landlords view these as signs the rental market is shifting their way."

"It's a favorite new conversation of landlords and managers, said Janet Regan, president of the Sacramento chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers. 'That's one of the biggest topics every month,' she said. 'The market is just starting to change. We're starting to see that we can get more for our homes as tenants move out.'"

"But it hasn't changed so much that landlords can increase rent on existing tenants, said Regan, a broker in Citrus Heights."

"A significant factor for demand gaining on supply: mortgage rates. They're at four-year highs amid lofty home prices. Likewise, a mounting standoff between buyers who want dramatically lower prices and sellers not ready to offer them is bottling up even more people in rental units. Complicating that supply forecast, however, is a growing supply of homes being rented while owners try to sell them."

"'We're hoping prices are going to drop in a while,' said renter Robine Anderson of Citrus Heights. 'It's cheaper right now to rent than to buy so we can save more money for a down payment.'"

"Even with 11,344 homes in the four-county region for sale in April, Anderson and her husband expect to rent until sometime next year. 'Personally, I'm just kind of waiting for things to even out a little bit and get a good deal,' she said. 'We're just trying to be sensible about it.'"