We don't have visibility into what the algorithm is designed to do and how it weights variables. So we can't say it is purely supply and demand.
By working together to control pricing like this, these companies are applying levers to the housing market. The free market model only works until someone starts messing with it. Ceteris paribus - all other things being equal - is a key assumption.
cogitator_tertius OP t1_its5szb wrote
Reply to comment by maybehomebuyeriguess in Rent too damn high? Landlords have formed an illegal cartel according to several reports by cogitator_tertius
Ey, you make it sound so simple! Love that for you