Posted on 08/24/2024 5:41:11 AM PDT by AbolishCSEU
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Texas-based real estate company RealPage, accusing it of artificially inflating rent prices across the country. The lawsuit alleges that RealPage's software uses nonpublic data from landlords to generate pricing recommendations, effectively quelling competition and leading to higher rents for millions of Americans.
According to the DOJ, RealPage's software enables landlords to share confidential, competitively sensitive information and align their rents.
"Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
He further added, "The rent is too damn high, and this is one of the reasons why."
The lawsuit, filed in North Carolina, alleges that RealPage holds a monopoly in the market for commercial revenue management software, controlling 80% of the market nationwide. The software is used to manage three million rental units across the United States, most of which are in Southern states.
RealPage has denied the allegations, asserting that its customers have full control over their rent prices and can reject the algorithm’s recommendations. “RealPage’s revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, and we have a history of working constructively with the DOJ to show that,” a spokesperson for the company stated, according to PYMNTS.com.
Immigration is probably the driver of increased rent across America.
Agree, but i think you really hit the point on eviction moratoriums.
There was a point in my life where I would consider turning one house into apartments and being a landlord, but after watching the governments tell renters they don’t have to pay because of a crisis, while still collecting taxes from the landlords during said crisis, showed me that I’d be better of selling it instead of having to pay taxes and not get income.
Another big point is that the minimum wage has gone up from about ten bucks to about fifteen nationally, and prices have adjusted across the board to reflect workers having more money to spend.
ILLEGAL immigration, that is.
The ultimate goal is for government to take over housing and dictate where people live.
Government regulation and control enabling rent seeking behaviour is a well-established mechanism for free market failure.
The solution is reducing or removing government and private interferrence in the free market, not adding demand through subsidized foreign invaders, capturing markets and constricting supply through regulation and monopolization.
Just makes the market more efficient
I am a current landlord in upstate NY and I can tell you that tenants here think housing is a “human right” and should be free. The entitlement is now on steroids.
The quality of tenants has declined so much that I still have a vacancy, brand new remodel from April. Out of 155 responses I have received 3 that actually qualified and all 3 backed out for somewhat frivolous reasons because they know good tenants are in high demand.
Trying to get someone who has:
1. a credit score between 600-780
2. doesn’t smoke
3. has 3X income to rent
4. good rental history
is almost impossible now.
I only have one small loan for 32K across five properties, 2 duplexes, 1 single family house, 2 townhouses and 1 four family. The last two buildings are being rehabbed.
knowing what similar units rent for is ikkegal?
Good point
I live in a nice apartment complex that uses realpage. To me as someone who’s worked on numerous vertical market software apps it’s clear on its face that the app encourages collusion. But… it is what it is ;-)
I determine market rents with comparables and what the market can bear. My rentals are in a once bedroom community for Xerox and manufacturing (rust belt state).
Since the Demonrats chased away all manufacturing jobs and the only employers are Big Medical and Big Retail, I have to take that into account.
Rent control is the solution of course./s
Minimum wage is $7.25 an hour in NC. The landlords charge what people can afford.
You can bet your sweet bippy that if Kamalama Ding Dong and Pinocchio Tim win in November, rent control will go nationwide under Meritless Garland.
but they won’t touch blackrock...
Rents nearly doubled in 2 years. Going up far faster than anything else. While I’m sure many things contributed to it, there also was some level of serious BS.
Crimmigration.
I’m pretty sure house SALE prices have doubled as well. So there’s that.
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