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RealPage rent-fixing lawsuit highlights use of algorithms to set rents

Apr 16, 2024
Lawsuits allege that RealPage, a company many large landlords use to price their apartments, uses confidential data in an anti-competitive way.
"The lack of transparency encourages rents to spiral upwards," said Shanti Singh of the advocacy group Tenants Together.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

These mobile home residents decided to buy their park to combat rising rents

Mar 25, 2024
As Californians deal with rising rents and a housing shortage, one group of mobile home park residents in Fresno County secured affordable housing for themselves by purchasing the land from the park’s corporate landlord.
Residents at Nuevo Lago Mobile Home Park formed a housing co-op to purchase the park from their corporate landlord, Harmony Communities California.
Madi Bolanos/KQED

Will 2024 be the year the housing market gets slightly less tough?

Dec 27, 2023
High mortgage costs, low supply of houses for purchase and high rents made for a pretty bleak year. But there's a glimmer of light on the horizon.
“Single-family houses are starting to seem like a luxury good," said Chris Mayer of Columbia Business School.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Is cost of housing the culprit for pessimism about economy?

Dec 12, 2023
Inflation dipped slightly, but housing remains the biggest driver of rising prices.
Rents have gone up almost 30% just in the last couple of years. And high mortgage rates mean buying is out of reach for many current renters.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Spike in new households adds to rent, home price increases

May 29, 2023
As of 2020, people living alone made up 27% of new households. That trend has been accelerating.
An apartment building in Manhattan, New York City, seeks renters. More Americans are forming their own households than in previous decades.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rents are way up. How are landlords picking the price?

Jan 25, 2023
The national median rent has risen over 20% since 2020, according to Apartment List. And the use of pricing algorithms used by some of the nation's biggest corporate landlords might be playing a role.
While smaller landlords still usually look at comparable units for determining prices, bigger corporate landlords use algorithms.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Rents are finally starting to fall. Here's why.

Dec 15, 2022
There was a huge surge in demand early in the pandemic. That has cooled down dramatically, and in some areas, demand is starting to be met.
Rents in some of the country's most unaffordable markets have begun to dip.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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Some signs that rents may be moderating after an up-and-down ride

Oct 25, 2022
Migration shifts due to the pandemic are among the factors that have contributed to price fluctuations in the rental market.
A new report says that renting a place in most of the country has become cheaper per month than owning. 
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Why this couple traded an apartment in Atlanta for a 27-foot sailboat

Feb 23, 2022
As housing costs rise, some are taking #vanlife one step further by leaving the solid footing of land. Instead of paying rent, they drop anchor.
Sunni Blanning and Brandon Bunch on the sailboat they call home.
Courtesy Blanning

High housing prices leave more would-be buyers renting

Dec 31, 2021
The share of rental applications from young people with above-average incomes spiked 20% in 2021. The shift is rippling through the market.
As younger, higher earners stay in the rental market longer, it can limit their chances to build wealth and price out lower-income people.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images