Hmmm...I wonder if that mean rents will go down, rather than up, as real estate continues to decline. If what you're saying represents a trend, that means there will be a glut of rental properties in the not too distant future.
Already here in our admittedly small valley (about 17,000 people), the local paper has about 3X the usual amount of rentals. The newly built houses have really high rents, builders trying to cover their payments, about $1100. Don't know if anyone is renting them. The "regular" houses, though, have gone down a bit - for instance, you can rent a couple bedroom house on acreage for under $600.
I'll ask my realtor friend in HI what's happening on the other islands, and also about rentals.