On a sunny Saturday morning of open homes across the city, The Herald spoke with several groups looking for a new place to rent.

A three-bedroom home in the sought-after suburb of Cooks Hill was a hive of activity. Fourteen groups registered to attend the open home, but 17 had already arrived before the allotted time of 10.30am.

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Overall, at least 35 groups inspected the Bull Street house, and First National senior property manager Cathy Simpson said she didn't expect they would need to organise another inspection date.

Brayden Maybury and Doon White looked at the home to move into with their partners.

They said they had been looking for a place for about two months.

"It's slim pickings at the moment," Brayden said. "There's not a lot of houses available, but also 70 people show up to look at them."

The pair said they had been offering more than the advertised price, offering two months rent up front, and even dressing nicely for the open homes to try and boost their chances.

"It's hard, I've been renting nine years and I've never seen it like this," Ms White said. "Even when I lived in Sydney."

Brady Sneddon and Jordann Studdert haven't been looking as long but have heard from friends how hard it is to secure a place.

"My sister was looking for four months," Mr Sneddon said.

"All the places are just so busy - there's at least 20 people who show up."

They are looking for a change and to move somewhere more renovated, but feel lucky they haven't been forced to move.

"I think I'd be worried if I didn't already have a place," Ms Studdert said. "We've had friends kicked out of their place who were almost going to be homeless."

Over at Broadmeadow, a two-bedroom townhouse was also a popular inspection site.

Fourteen groups looked at the Denison Street home, including Wollongong couple Katie Chapman and Fabian Dedal.

They said they'd been looking to move to Newcastle for about two months and had applied for about 15 places.

"Most places we've had to line up to get into," Ms Chapman said. "We didn't expect this much trouble. I originally wanted to bring my dog up but that's not even an option at the moment."

Castle Property partner Adriano Rossi said it was hard to say why some tenants weren't chosen in these competitive times.

He said their system favoured applications which ticked a box to say they had already looked at the property, rather than those who apply before they've seen it. But other than that he couldn't offer much advice to prospective tenants.

"We try to narrow it down to a shortlist and then send that to the owner to decide," he said. "But often we don't get feedback."

He said offering more money often wasn't a drawcard, as property managers just wanted people who would make good tenants.

"I see it as a bit of a red flag," he said. "The application should be able to speak for itself."

He said the agency was mostly only needing to hold one open home per place to find the right person.

"Unless there's a particular application the owner is intrigued by, but generally one is enough," he said.

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