Corporate Landlords See $300 Million Profit Surge Amid Rent Hikes and Controversy
Rising Rent Prices and RealPage Controversy: Corporate Landlords’ Profit Soars
Corporate landlords in the United States are seeing massive profit increases while tenants struggle with escalating rent prices and fees, according to the published article of Common Dreams. An analysis by Accountable.US reveals that the six largest corporate landlords including Camden Property Trust and Equity Residential have seen profits soar by nearly $300 million in the first quarter of 2024 primarily due to rent hikes. Camden Property Trust for instance nearly doubled its net income to $85.8 million while Essex Property Trust saw a 76% increase raising rents by over 2% year over year. These increases have left many renters in a bind needing to earn nearly $80,000 annually to avoid being rent-burdened. Adding to the controversy these landlords have been implicated in lawsuits involving the property management software company RealPage. The software allegedly used an algorithm to fix rent prices affecting around 16 million rental units across the U.S.
The Department of Justice’s antitrust investigation into RealPage’s practices further highlights concerns about manipulation of the rental market. RealPage’s system reportedly influences rental pricing in 70% of multifamily apartment buildings driving up costs by encouraging landlords to follow its recommendations. Liz Zelnick from Accountable.US criticized the landlords for their greed-driven rent hikes and called for legislative action to support affordable housing initiatives. President Joe Biden has urged Congress to pass laws to curb landlord price gouging and increase the availability of affordable rental units. As tenants continue to struggle the need for government intervention becomes more pressing to address the disparity between rising rents and stagnant wages.
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Analysis: Corporate Landlords’ Profits Jump as Rent Prices Skyrocket in the U.S.
Furthermore, the report by Accountable.US underscores a significant disparity between the narratives of economic recovery celebrated by the Biden administration and the lived realities of millions of renters. Despite inflation rates dropping to their lowest in over two years tenants particularly those under corporate landlords are not reaping the benefits. Rent prices have increased by 31.4% since 2019 while wages have only risen by 23% exacerbating the financial strain on renters who now need substantially higher incomes to avoid being rent-burdened. The involvement of RealPage in the rental market has raised alarm bells with allegations suggesting that its pricing algorithm has artificially inflated rent prices nationwide. This coordinated effort among landlords to adopt RealPage’s pricing recommendations has limited the availability of affordable rental units pushing prices higher.
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