Burlington's tight rental market prompts bidding wars
Landlords see unusually high demand brought on by pandemic
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Updated: 7:51 PM EDT May 27, 2021
Landlords see unusually high demand brought on by pandemic
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Updated: 7:51 PM EDT May 27, 2021
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THANKS FOR JOINING US AT 6. I'M BRIAN COLLERAN. AND I'M ALICE KANG. LANDLORDS IN BURLINGTON... ARE SEEING a lot of people... looking for a place to live. This AS THE PANDEMIC... has made people áárethink where they want to live. NBC FIVE'S BRIANNA BORGHI. LIVE IN BURLINGTON TONIGHT. WITH THE STORY. BRIANNA... IF YOU THOUGHT THE HOUSING CRISIS WAS ONLY AFFECTING SINGLE FAMILY HOMES...THINK AGAIN. PEOPLE ARE FLOCKING TO BURLINGTON AND SURROUNDING AREAS, AND APARTMENT AVAILABILITY...IS SCARCE. A TIGHT RENTAL MARKET... BEING MET WITH EVEN HIGHER DEMAND IN BURLINGTON. MARK KUPRYCH/ BURLINGTON LANDLORD: IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AN APARTMENT, YOU NEED TO MOVE VERY QUICKLY. MARK KUPRYCH IS GETTING THIS UNIT READY FOR A NEW TENANT... AND HE'S FOUND HIMSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIDDING WAR... MARK KUPRYCH/ BURLINGTON LANDLORD: HE WAS PREPARED TO PAY $175 MORE THAN I ASKED FOR IT//SO I TOOK THE MONEY. KUPRYCH SAID IT'S NEVER HAPPENED TO HIM BEFORE. MARK KUPRYCH/ BURLINGTON LANDLORD: I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LEGAL IT IS FOR A TENANT TO OFFER MORE TO A LANDLORD. ESPECIALLY AS REMOTE WORK BECOMES A PERMANENT OPTION FOR SOME PEOPLE... DEMAND IS SKYROCKETING. KUPRYCH POSTS HIS UNITS ON CRAIGSLIST, AND IN 15 MINUTES HE STARTS GETTING RESPONSES. MARK KUPRYCH/ BURLINGTON LANDLORD THIS COVID PERIOD THAT WE'RE IN IS REALLY RESULTING IN PEOPLE SCRAMBLING FOR HOUSING. IN NEIGHBORING WINOOSKI, A NEW APARTMENT BUILDING IS GOING UP... OFFERING 30 UNITS TO A MARKET WHERE AVAILABILITY IS SLIM. AND YOU NEED TO MOVE QUICKLY. WE REACHED OUT TO THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SEE JUST HOW LEGAL IT IS FOR TENANTS TO OUTBID EACH OTHER... BUT WE HAVE NOT HEARD BA