SOCO Realty property management director Ashleigh Goodchild said she would not recommend offering more money, but it had become more common for tenants to do so.

“I think people are anxious to see so many people at a home open and they feel they have to offer more to stand out, between $10 and $100 extra,” she said.

“Usually they are offering around $25 more per week … but I would say that the best way to stand out is to write a really good cover letter telling us why you like the property and a bit about you.

“People have started to write these more since the rental market tightened and many include pictures of them with their family, or pictures of their pets if they have them.”

Goodchild said she had also noticed people were offering months of rent in advance, and had recently seen a tenant offer six months upfront to secure a home while he was between jobs.

She said another had offered 12 months.

“From what I have seen, offering more money only works if there are multiple applications of the same standard and the incentive adds an edge the others don’t have,” Goodchild said.