US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
klobuchar.senate.gov
US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
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Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#2I was disappointed to see this was not about Blackrock and other private equity groups.
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#3I was disappointed to see this was not about Blackrock and other private equity groups.
These anti-competitive pricing models seem to be the primary motivation for a large scale landlord wanting to invest in the first place. So it sort-of is?
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#4I was disappointed to see this was not about Blackrock and other private equity groups.
I’m quite happy to see this having lived in apartments driven by automated pricing which is obviously a new kind of cartel.
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#5> “As recently reported, software offered by RealPage uses pricing algorithms to adjust prices on vacant apartments in real time… The program may also induce landlords to charge the rents recommended by the algorithm, putting upward pressure on prices and decreasing the availability of affordable apartments”
That’s the meat of it, really. Someone more knowledgeable can speak more confidently, but I’d be pretty surprised if we see anything materializing here.
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#6I was disappointed to see this was not about Blackrock and other private equity groups.
I’m quite happy to see this having lived in apartments driven by automated pricing which is obviously a new kind of cartel.
The innovation here isn't the automated pricing, but convincing all the landlords in an area to collude by sharing pricing and demand data with a central organizer. Humans could do the pricing and it would still be illegal collusion.
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#7I was disappointed to see this was not about Blackrock and other private equity groups.
I’m quite happy to see this having lived in apartments driven by automated pricing which is obviously a new kind of cartel.
Is it really a cartel, or is it just landlords squeezing every penny that they can? With there being a lot of pennies to squeeze due to a double-whammy of supply shortages, and growth in wages for the upper 30% of society?
If people didn't have spare money, rents wouldn't be growing (As nobody would be able to pay), and if vacancies were higher, landlords would have to accept lowball offers.
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#8> “As recently reported, software offered by RealPage uses pricing algorithms to adjust prices on vacant apartments in real time… The program may also induce landlords to charge the rents recommended by the algorithm, putting upward pressure on prices and decreasing the availability of affordable apartments” That’s the meat of it, really. Someone more knowledgeable can speak more confidently, but I’d be pretty surpri…
> I’d be pretty surprised if we see anything materializing here.
Note that the link is from Nov 17, a couple weeks ago. Just last week it was reported that the DOJ is already investigating (discussed here):
https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-realpage-rent-d... ( https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33744136 )
https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479034/doj-investigati...
There is also a lawsuit: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/real-estate/seattle-la...
Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m quite happy to see this having lived in apartments driven by automated pricing which is obviously a new kind of cartel.
Is it really a cartel, or is it just landlords squeezing every penny that they can? With there being a lot of pennies to squeeze due to a double-whammy of supply shortages, and growth in wages for the upper 30% of society? If people didn't have spare money, rents wouldn't be growing (As nobody would be able to pay), and if vacancies were higher, landlords would have to accept lowball offers.
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Re: US reps urge DOJ to investigate anticompetitive conduct affecting apartment rent
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I’m quite happy to see this having lived in apartments driven by automated pricing which is obviously a new kind of cartel.
Is it really a cartel, or is it just landlords squeezing every penny that they can? With there being a lot of pennies to squeeze due to a double-whammy of supply shortages, and growth in wages for the upper 30% of society? If people didn't have spare money, rents wouldn't be growing (As nobody would be able to pay), and if vacancies were higher, landlords would have to accept lowball offers.
RealPage is Cartel As A Servics (CAAS), by allowing landlords to collude through a 3rd party to raise rents.