This one is interesting. I did a business exercise a few years ago where we had to figure out if gas stations posting their prices on the signs should count as collusion since their competitors can look and then adjust prices, and if that helps them raise prices and unofficially fix them as a group. This software reminds me of the same thing in that it's just a shortcut to looking at a bunch of price sheets.
It's not the same at all. In the earlier article an expert was quoted suggesting that the algorithm could be replaced with a "guy named Bob" and the problem becomes more obvious.
In the gas station analogy, it would be equivalent to hiring a guy named Bob to set your prices, and Bob also works for your competitors in the area doing the same "service." That's pretty clearly collusion.
Yes and no, it depends what Bob is doing.
If Bob is simply using vacancy rates and reported monthly rents to calculate the optimal rent and vacancy rate to maximize revenue across a given slate of units, is it really collusion?
Ultimately what Bob is doing here is
calculating the fair market rent based on aggregated information, and providing that information to landlords. Those landlords are then free to act on that information as they please. Any given landlord is free to defect and charge X% less (or more) if they choose. Which is the key, Bob does not actually set anybody's prices. He merely suggests, at any given moment, what the optimal price appears to be based on data.
EDIT: Reading further comments, I'm seeing the fundamental different now; in this situation "Bob" is acting on proprietary information rather than public information If these companies only aggregated
public listing information I'd have a point, but by collating data that is otherwise private...including data that purchasers have no abilityto see...it definitely creates something closer to collusion-by-proxy.
