> Now, the issue is that RealPage's algorithm will quickly learn that it can raise rents much higher if it controls the market in a city or neighborhood. If the

> Now, the issue is that RealPage's algorithm will quickly learn that it can raise rents much higher if it controls the market in a city or neighborhood. If they tell one landlord raises rent by 30%, that landlord is likely going to lose most of their tenants to other landlords. If they tell every landlord to raise rent by 30%, then tenants are no longer in a competitive market where they can rent from someone else. Essentially, the landlords have formed a cartel. Which is I suspect why RealPage encourages calls with software users and "strongly discourages" pricing things differently than their software says. The official line is because it's an "educated estimate", and the unofficial line, I suspect, is "because the number we have given you is one part in a much larger equation that others are relying on, too".