Bidding war on rent??

Are bidding wars for rentals the new norm?

This situation was a bit frustrating so maybe l'm projecting here, but for background, I applied for a rental in Hyde Park & was told that they were taking the applicant who offered the highest rental rate. Property was listed for ~$2.3k/mon and someone ended up bidding over $3k.

Is this the new norm when renting in Austin? I haven't heard of this happening before and was caught off guard.