The economic law of supply and demand states that when the supply of a good or service exceeds demand, the price will fall. Most politicians understand this and typically invoke their laws in response to public complaints about high consumer costs.
But when it comes to housing, leading Democrats are paying lip service to supply while simultaneously working on counterproductive plans to avoid responsibility for rising costs.
Instead of addressing the real causes of inflation and economic instability, the administration's response is to launch an easy attack on the private sector.
Estimates needed to address national housing shortage 1.7 million new homes built In response to this crisis, the Biden-Harris administration has chosen a desperate, partisan approach to scapegoat private sector technology through litigation.
The Department of Justice is suing RealPage, a software company in the rental industry, for its role in raising rent prices for apartments and apartment complexes. It may seem strange to blame a single data analytics company for the national housing shortage and inflationary pressures, but it is. We need real solutions.
What is RealPage? In addition to providing real estate management tools such as an IT support platform and a renter verification system, RealPage provides information on vacancy rates, rental period trends, expected occupancy, and expected consumer It also provides an assessment of rental asset metrics such as demand.
Property managers require quick analysis to properly price within the market. If you price too low, you risk failing to capture fair market value in a market with razor-thin profit margins, leading to financial disaster. However, setting it too high will discourage consumers and lead to empty units, leading to daily losses.
Without the Department of Justice's evidence showing where rents have increased excessively, the market power claims against RealPage appear dubious at best. Approximately 3 million leasing companies nationwide use RealPage's market price assessment tool. If the government's accusations were to have merit, there would be many examples to support them.
The unwarranted attacks on data analytics tools represent the latest effort by the Biden-Harris administration to make unsubstantiated allegations of wrongdoing across industries struggling to survive under the harsh economic conditions the administration has created. He makes frequent claims.
Last year, for example, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit seeking to block JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit Airlines. Biden and Harris' central planners tried to dictate travelers' choices; nurture the environment It stifles innovation and limits airlines' ability to lower fares.
Another troubling example is the Biden-Harris administration's targeting of the grocery sector. When Kroger tried to buy Albertsons, the Federal Trade Commission I immediately tried The acquisition was announced citing unfounded competition concerns and the possibility of price hikes. This stance ignores the rapid price increases caused by administrative policies and unchecked government spending that are a burden to taxpayers. over $2 trillion.
Instead of addressing the real causes of inflation and economic instability, the administration's response is to simply attack the private sector, the companies that seek to innovate and create market efficiencies that benefit consumers.
Improving the housing market starts with lawmakers overhauling the country's notorious housing market Onerous building standards and regulations. Rising material costs due to tariffs, lengthy permitting procedures, construction labor shortages, restrictive zoning laws, and environmental requirements all create cost pressures and impede construction of the new housing America desperately needs. .
Since moving back to my home state of Arizona a few years ago, I've seen an influx of people moving here and, of course, rising rent prices. Unfortunately, under Democratic attorneys general, state officials have joined the Biden-Harris administration in ignoring the real causes of rising market costs. their own lawsuit Against RealPage. After two decades of Republican leadership that made Arizona attractive to newcomers, Democratic leaders are now unfortunately pursuing the wrong path of stifling innovation.
To address housing affordability, we must address supply shortages and inflationary pressures. Instead, the federal government under Biden and Harris has chosen to scapegoat software companies and mislead consumers about how the housing market works. Americans should not be fooled by such false narratives.
