Greater Boston: Bidding wars for apartment rentals

Who would offer to pay extra rent for an apartment? Turns out, quite a few people desperate to find a place to live in Boston and environs. A Boston Globe article: Now there are bidding wars for Boston area apartments shares the story of two working professionals who were looking to rent a not-so-great two-bedroom apartment a 20 minute walk from the Orange Line station in Malden for $2,200 a month.The $2,200 rent was a stretch and they planned to keep the heat low (because that $2200 didn't include heat). The couple put in an application and got a message from the broker telling them to make an offer above the published rent. They put in an offer of $100 per month over the rent and were beat out by other prospective tenants.The article details how common this practice has become - especially near T stations.