text: Increasing here in Vancouver you will see a decent rent advertised for a unit, say $1200, then the landlord hosts a group viewing.  He will then ask the gathered prospective tenants what they are willing to pay for the unit. Yeah - an auction.
  
  You can get away with that when the vacancy rate is well under one percent. As it is here.
  
  (Btw one of my kids faced this scenario twice when looking for an apartment recently).