Texas-based RealPage’s YieldStar software helps landlords set prices for apartments across the U.S. With rents soaring, critics are concerned that the company’s proprietary algorithm is hurting competition.
by Heather Vogell, ProPublica
On a summer day last year, a group of real estate tech executives gathered at a conference hall in Nashville to boast about one of their company’s signature products: software that uses a mysterious algorithm to help landlords push the highest possible rents on tenants.
“Never before have we seen these numbers,” said Jay Parsons, a vice president of RealPage, as conventiongoers wandered by. Apartment rents had recently shot up by as much as 14.5%, he said in a video touting the company’s services. Turning to his colleague, Parsons asked: What role had the software played?
“I think it’s driving it, quite honestly,” answered Andrew Bowen, another RealPage executive. “As a property manager, very few of us would be willing to actually raise rents double digits within a single month by doing it manually.”
The celebratory remarks were more than swagger. For years, RealPage has sold software that uses data analytics to suggest daily prices for open units. Property managers across the United States have gushed about how the company’s algorithm boosts profits.
Recent Posts
The IRS Is Building A Vast System To Share Millions Of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE
Take Action Now ProPublica has obtained the blueprint for the Trump administration’s unprecedented plan to turn over IRS records to Homeland Security…
Israel’s Sudden Assault On Syria Is Unchecked Aggression
Take Action Now Jerusalem is bombing Damascus and threatening al-Sharaa’s rule, while Washington was hoping to help the nascent government on…
The Dangers Of Nuclear War Have Never Been Higher
Take Action Now Yet mainstream US media outlets and partisan politics are routinely oblivious to threat of oblivion.By Norman Solomon, The Nation…
‘Gaza Journalists Under Fire’, A Zero Hour Conversation With Robert Greenwald
Take Action Now Robert Greenwald appeared on The Zero Hour to discuss “Gaza: Journalists Under Fire,” his new documentary on the 200+…