The bank benefited because its shortfall between maintenance and rents on the individual apartments it owned narrowed.

Price changes reflect the comeback, and the gap between current rents for vacancies and those in the mid-80's is extreme.

Housing bears like him often point to the growing disconnection between rents and house prices.

The gap between rents in renovated buildings and those not improved can be as high as $8 a foot.

This leaves some sponsors with a cash-flow problem; they may not be able to carry the cost difference between regulated rents and their maintenance responsibilities.

And what are those shining sparks which glance here and there between rents in the clouds?

Some experts on homelessness say the numbers are growing because of the widening gap between low pay and high rents.

The gap between most rents and maintenances is about 20 percent.

In Northern California, where the gap between house prices and rents is largest, home values would need to go up about 19 percent by 2010.

"Historically there has been a good correlation between wage inflation and rents," he said.