I know that San Francisco’s Real Estate Algorithmic Pricing ban went into effect in September 2024. I wanted to see if I could see any effect on rental prices since then. The best source I could...
I know that San Francisco’s Real Estate Algorithmic Pricing ban went into effect in September 2024. I wanted to see if I could see any effect on rental prices since then.
The best source I could find was from Zillow, but it’s still not a great indicator of any one policy’s effect on rental prices. It seems like rents initially went up, but that could be RealPage pushing prices up as they are pushed out to try and hide the effect of the ban. Right now, rental prices are down, but I am not controlling for any other factors that may influence the price of rentals. I do know that rents are lower outside of peak lease renewal dates like the beginning and end of summer.
Hopefully these bans can hold on for another year or two so researchers can get a more accurate read on whether the pricing algorithms have actually been hurting renters.
As far as I can see the only options are that they’re hurting renters or they’re scamming landlords for a service that doesn’t work, so presumably Real Page doesn’t come out looking great either...
Hopefully these bans can hold on for another year or two so researchers can get a more accurate read on whether the pricing algorithms have actually been hurting renters.
As far as I can see the only options are that they’re hurting renters or they’re scamming landlords for a service that doesn’t work, so presumably Real Page doesn’t come out looking great either way here…
If RealPage tweaked the algorithm to decrease vacant units while still increasing rental prices, they could make the argument that it’s a housing supply issue and not a price fixing issue. I have...
If RealPage tweaked the algorithm to decrease vacant units while still increasing rental prices, they could make the argument that it’s a housing supply issue and not a price fixing issue. I have a feeling that studies would show vacancies increase while prices increase meaning that RealPage is actually decreasing the efficiency of the housing market.
We also have to consider that large corporate landlords who own a large share of the rental market in a city can price fix without needing to use RealPage. If one company owns 30% of the rentals in a city, they can definitely start to affect the market. Cities should probably pass laws limiting how much of the real estate market any one company can control to prevent future consolidation, but that may be getting too far off topic.
I just don’t want to make conclusions yet. Until I or someone else can properly analyze the data, it’s just a hypothesis.
Currently existing antitrust laws might also apply to market concentration at that level. Or such laws could be tweaked if needed to apply to real estate.
Currently existing antitrust laws might also apply to market concentration at that level. Or such laws could be tweaked if needed to apply to real estate.
This is the same company that has been sued for antitrust and price fixing multiple times.
I hope they lose. They're awful.
I know that San Francisco’s Real Estate Algorithmic Pricing ban went into effect in September 2024. I wanted to see if I could see any effect on rental prices since then.
The best source I could find was from Zillow, but it’s still not a great indicator of any one policy’s effect on rental prices. It seems like rents initially went up, but that could be RealPage pushing prices up as they are pushed out to try and hide the effect of the ban. Right now, rental prices are down, but I am not controlling for any other factors that may influence the price of rentals. I do know that rents are lower outside of peak lease renewal dates like the beginning and end of summer.
Hopefully these bans can hold on for another year or two so researchers can get a more accurate read on whether the pricing algorithms have actually been hurting renters.
As far as I can see the only options are that they’re hurting renters or they’re scamming landlords for a service that doesn’t work, so presumably Real Page doesn’t come out looking great either way here…
If RealPage tweaked the algorithm to decrease vacant units while still increasing rental prices, they could make the argument that it’s a housing supply issue and not a price fixing issue. I have a feeling that studies would show vacancies increase while prices increase meaning that RealPage is actually decreasing the efficiency of the housing market.
We also have to consider that large corporate landlords who own a large share of the rental market in a city can price fix without needing to use RealPage. If one company owns 30% of the rentals in a city, they can definitely start to affect the market. Cities should probably pass laws limiting how much of the real estate market any one company can control to prevent future consolidation, but that may be getting too far off topic.
I just don’t want to make conclusions yet. Until I or someone else can properly analyze the data, it’s just a hypothesis.
Currently existing antitrust laws might also apply to market concentration at that level. Or such laws could be tweaked if needed to apply to real estate.