The DOJ accused RealPage in August of 2024 of facilitating unlawful price-fixing and rent inflation by using competitively sensitive, nonpublic data from multiple landlords to generate rent recommendations, effectively aligning pricing across competing properties.

Anti-trust behavior, also known as anti-competitive conduct, refers to business practices that substantially lessen competition in the marketplace, restrict free trade, or lead to the unfair formation or abuse of a monopoly. These actions ultimately harm consumers by resulting in higher prices, lower quality, reduced innovation, and less choice.

The Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a proposed settlement this week to resolve the United States’ claims against RealPage Inc.

The information provided by RealPage is frankly no different than the information that is routinely available from a multitude of sources including Yardi Matrix, Costar, and ALN to name just a few.

This information is publicly available in close to real time. What perhaps is not publicly available is the extent to which landlords have been negotiating leasing incentives into leases with specific tenants. That information might not be publicly available. If RealPage was making pricing recommendations to landlords using this information, then I can see where a line was crossed and could be considered anti-competitive.

The truth is, landlords have ready access to this kind of market information on a regular basis. Any appraisal or third party market study will make rental pricing recommendations based on the market data. These have been standard practice for decades when it comes to any financing due diligence. Any property owner with a brain can integrate the market data into a series of pricing strategies. While RealPage is having one hand tied behind their back with this settlement, there are very few secrets when it comes to pricing. We live in a fully interconnected world where tenants can increasingly use artificial intelligence to get up to date pricing information and frankly have the upper hand when it comes to finding the lowest price.

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