A closer look
If you wonder why your rent jumped 30% in a year, blame an algorithm. A software company called RealPage convinced thousands of corporate landlords to hand over their pricing power to a centralized AI. Instead of landlords competing to offer the lowest rent, the algorithm advised them to hold apartments vacant and universally hike prices simultaneously. By replacing human property managers with a cold, profit-maximizing code, they effectively bypassed traditional monopoly laws and engineered a silent, nationwide housing squeeze without the landlords ever having to speak to each other.
