We rented in that area several years ago and I liked it... the houses are really nice and there's a lot of new development (w/ more land to expand). It's kind of a trip (and maybe sad) that there's all this open space out there and then a wall of houses, like a tidal wave of houses covering the land... As for the right time to buy, I guess that's up to you. Prices are down, and can keep going down, but can go up in the Summer... It's anyone's guess really
One thing I didn't like about living in Roseville is being stuck w/ Surewest and calling Sacramento, or our cell phones, being considered long distance - I think they called it Zone 3, which isn't covered by a separate long distance carrier.