At the start of the year, Lindsey Bourne, 33, started looking for a new apartment to rent in Oakland, the city across the bay from San Francisco. She last moved in 2019. This time, she was looking for a larger apartment in a smarter neighbourhood. Her budget was between $2,500 and $2,800 per month, but she thought she might have to pay more.

In the aftermath of Covid lockdowns, rental prices across the country were climbing rapidly as residents flocked back to US cities. Would-be tenants reported that apartment viewings were crowded with other hopefuls, resulting in bidding wars and homes going under contract for far higher than their original list prices.

But while Bourne says that the viewings she went to were well attended, when she found a home she liked and submitted her first offer of $2,200 per month, the landlord accepted it straight away.