Little demand for inauguration housing

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9 (UPI) -- Individuals looking to cash in on U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration ceremony through rentals are struggling, officials say.

Tania Odabashian, vice president of Virginia's Corporate Apartment Specialists, said while there was a slight demand for Washington-area housing after Election Day, that demand has dwindled to nearly nothing, The Washington Post said Friday.

"Initially, we were flooded with calls from people looking for (inaugural) housing. For about four or five days, the phone would not stop ringing," Odabashian said, "But now we have apartments as low as $150 a night that we can't get rid of."

Inauguralhomes.com co-founder Andre Butters agreed, blaming the decline in housing interest for the Jan. 20 event in part on overpriced rentals at the hands of property owners.

"They see a few people put ads on Craigslist for $10,000," he told the Post. "People think that's what the norm is. That's not what the norm is."