A few years back, I was looking for a rental in a German city with a similarly hot market. One place I looked at was not very modern but had quite low rent, so there were 300 applicants and I didn't even try. Another place was put on the market 3 days prior, there were 5 people looking at it with me, 3 of them applied (including me), and I got it. It was more expensive though (not insane, mind you) and very modern, recently renovated.
So, of course there will be crazy places, but if you only shoot for the ones with top demand, then of course you can come with anecdotes that sound insane.
A few years back, I was looking for a rental in a German city with a similarly hot market. One place I looked at was not very modern but had quite low rent, so there were 300 applicants and I didn't even try. Another place was put on the market 3 days prior, there were 5 people looking at it with me, 3 of them applied (including me), and I got it. It was more expensive though (not insane, mind you) and very modern, recently renovated.
So, of course there will be crazy places, but if you only shoot for the ones with top demand, then of course you can come with anecdotes that sound insane.