Rental bidding erupts in Portland

Kylie Snyder liked the two-bedroom apartment on the Danforth.

The 1200 square foot living room, exposed brick and modern kitchen seemed perfect for her and her boyfriend, who is moving to Portland this summer.

However, when the owner Snyder said they had happily rent it for the advertised price of $ 1150, Snyder received bad news.

"People before us had already offered $ 1200 because two other people he wanted," Snyder said, "and the couple after us - it turned out - was wiling to pay $ 1300 so it was out of our price range .."

Snyder's experience is representative of a surprising phenomenon new to Portland, where a market flooded with rental let prospective tenants bidding against each other for apartments in the medium and high.

In some cases, as in Danforth, people have overcome the asking price in the demand for apartments.

In other cases, prospective tenants have offered more deposits, several months rent in advance and other temptations to land in the apartment they want, said Veronica Schneider, Director of Schneider Property Management.

Although Schneider does not allow potential tenants to bid against each other or to offer higher prices, it has not stopped people from trying.

"People are ready to throw everything they can on us for the property," she said.

Schneider, who also owns Green Tree Realty, said that this is the first year she has seen or heard of people trying to outbid the rental units since it began in 1998, property management .

Industry insiders have also said that it is a new phenomenon.

Linda Norden, Bancroft, owner of Aquarius Property Management, oversees 61 rental units in Portland and is a board member of the South owner of Maine.

At a recent meeting of association, she heard the president of the group of prospective tenants bidding on rental housing, which she had never heard before.

A convergence of factors led to this market ultracompetitive, Bancroft, Norden said.

First, Portland has become a desired market, because it took less than a coup that other cities during the recession.

Second, the frozen credit markets made it difficult for people to get mortgages for houses and condominiums, which sent these people to the rental market.

Third, Portland still has lower prices than cities like Boston and New York, so those who move here are sometimes willing to pay higher prices for a quality apartment.

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