As the housing market heats up, bidding wars, usually reserved for buyers vying for prime real estate, are now popping up in the rental home market. According to CNBC, demand for apartments and single-family rental is surging and outpacing supply. With the housing market being so expensive in some areas, would-be homebuyers are being priced out and looking for rentals instead. Some landlords are seeing a big increase in the number of rental applications, with more renters offering well above the asking price. “The rental applications that we’re getting right now, you’re seeing higher credit scores, you’re seeing applicants willing to put down more in terms of security deposit, you’re seeing strong rental history as well. That wasn’t necessarily the case pre-COVID,” said Vipin Motwani, managing principal at Iron Gate Development in Maryland. According to Zumper, a national rental listing platform, rents nationally rose 7% year-over-year in July for a one-bedroom apartment, and 8.7% for a two-bedroom apartment.