So today, after a nearly-two-year investigation, the Justice Department, joined by eight states, has sued RealPage, a commercial real estate software company, for violating the Sherman Antitrust Act.RealPage sells landlords what it calls “revenue management” software. We allege that this software is developed, marketed, and sold to enable landlords to sidestep vigorous competition in the rental market. Competing landlords agree to submit to RealPage, on a daily basis, their most sensitive, non-public information, including rental rates, lease terms, and projected vacancies. RealPage then combines this data from competing landlords and feeds it into an algorithm that provides real-time pricing recommendations back to the competing landlords. But as we allege, these are more than just recommendations. RealPage actively polices landlords’ compliance with those recommendations. It also monitors landlords’ other policies ....
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