Algorithmic pricing methods used by some landlords are not being used widely enough to increase rents overall or harm competition, but will be monitored going forward to ensure they don’t negatively affect housing affordability, according to Canada’s Competition Bureau.
A civil investigation into the use of algorithmic pricing tools in Canada’s rental market found that due to relatively low adoption, such tools have not “substantially” harmed competition or increased rents, the Competition Bureau said in a Nov. 10 news release.
“While the Bureau did not find sufficient evidence to conclude there has been an abuse of dominance or anticompetitive collaboration by RealPage or Yardi at this time, it remains concerned about the potential impact of algorithmic pricing tools on competition in the multi-family rental housing market,” the release notes….