In the Inland Empire, which has suffered the worst of the housing market meltdown, renters caught a relative break as landlords raised rents at half the pace found in neighboring counties. Although rents rose across the Southland, some analysts said they had been expecting to see even higher prices given the housing market meltdown, which turns many potential home buyers into renters. "The supply and demand for the housing market are interrelated with the supply and demand of the apartment market," said Delores Conway, director of USC's Casden Real Estate Economics Forecast. Now, with tougher lending standards and a shaky housing market, "more people are choosing to rent rather than to buy."
