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> [RealPage's] algorithm is based on pricing data from its own clients, prompting some experts to speculate that the company effectively provides a way for big
by hiAndrewQuinn 3y ago
> [RealPage's] algorithm is based on pricing data from its own clients, prompting some experts to speculate that the company effectively provides a way for big landlords to collude and fix prices.
This seems like it would only be an effective form of collusion if everyone or almost everyone in the same area used, and therefore fed data into, RealPage. If it's only a small slice of a given city's rentals it seems like it would be much less effective.
Perhaps the real way to fix this is regulation requiring all landlords to publish their rent pricing data in an open and accessible way. I don't know if such data exists or not in the United States, or even here in Finland, but I would be absolutely fascinated to see it.
EDIT: Bloomberg Terminal users, does your magic know-everything machine have this kind of data?
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- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- jprafael 3y agoNot a bloomberg terminal user here. But Multiple Listing Services offer this data.
- n4r9 3y agoThe lawsuit alleges that it controls a decent percentage of the market: > RealPage collects up-to-the-minute data on the historical and contemporaneous pricing from participating Lessors, data that, according to RealPage, is updated “every time [Lessors] make or change a [lease] renewal offer,” spanning over “16 million units,” which is a “very large chunk of the total inventory in the country.” https://www.hausfeld.com/media/550bhzyp/realpage-complaint-filed.pdf https://www.hausfeld.com/media/550bhzyp/realpage-complaint-f... Statista reckons this is out of 44 million units total in the USA: https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occupied-by-renter-in-the-us-since-1975/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/187577/housing-units-occ...