The broker fee IME is usually an extra month of rent due at the time of signing the lease. Because in certain cities the vast majority of apartments will follow

The broker fee IME is usually an extra month of rent due at the time of signing the lease. Because in certain cities the vast majority of apartments will follow this convention, and it's not really something that will be mentioned until you're in the process of formally applying (unless you ask), I don't see it having a market effect in the same way that raising the rent would.