Supply and Demand of Inauguration Rentals

A few weeks ago there were a number of stories about how DCers were trying to cash in on the Presidential Inauguration by subletting their house/apartment to visitors (example).

I found it hard to believe that rooms would rent out for thousands of $s a night. It seemed like most of these articles, talked about advertised prices and not what people actually paid.

So what happened, my guess is that those people did not actually rent out their apartments for thousands of dollars a night. A check of Craigslist has shown the prices are falling to a few hundred dollars a night, really not that out of line with downtown hotels.

It sometimes take a while for markets to sort themselves out, what price should an apartment rental during inauguration be, it seems like its approaching about $400 bucks a night per bedroom.

If you are interested though my couch is still available to friends/family.