How an algorithm f'd up rent prices

Also: What you need to know about Project 2025.

Author

Nick Wolny
June 24, 2024

Today I have for you a surprising reason rent in cities has gone up so much, an executive summary on a dangerous political playbook, hot links and an adorable corgi video I took last week.

—Nick Wolny

How an algorithm f'd up rent prices

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It's not just you! Rent is up. In some markets where a certain software was being used, rent has gone up 50-80% in just seven years.

RealPage makes software for landlords. The software, called Yieldstar, helps landlords decide how much rent to charge. Many people think Yieldstar is unfair because it makes rents go up a lot. The software also encourages landlords to keep some apartments empty, even when people need places to live. This is because Yieldstar thinks it's better to charge higher rent for fewer apartments than lower rent for more apartments.

In recent years, some real estate investors have bought apartment buildings for very high prices, thinking they could raise rents further using Yieldstar. But a slew of lawsuits are being brought against RealPage, and now many of these buildings aren't making enough money to pay their loans.

This writeup from Maureen Tkacik at The American Prospect is an interesting exploration of whether algorithms should be allowed to optimize rent prices.

Democracy alert: Project 2025

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It would be good to know about a far-right playbook recently introduced in the U.S. ahead of the November Presidential election.

Project 2025 is a manifesto of over 900 pages that recommends in detail the actions the next conservative President should take to “rescue the country” from “elite rule and woke cultural warriors.” The project has received support from more than 80 organizations, many of which are known for their extremist Christian nationalism, according to the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. A detailed recap from GPAHE is here.

Why put this in a personal finance newsletter?

Because part of wealth means feeling informed and civically engaged. And my work is increasingly focused on the well-being of LGBTQ+ people. This project aspires to roll back protection wins queer people have secured over the years, and it would have negative financial and social impact on us.

The project also includes instructions for ending reproductive freedom, offices that study climate change, and, uh... checks notes dismantling the FBI. And make sure you're registered to vote!

Even if Trump doesn't win, the project is an authoritarian playbook that is already making the rounds and will likely shape anti-LGBTQ+ policy efforts for years to come. Here's a write-up from The Advocate with basics to know.

Reading is fundamental

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Money and Work

Tests Show Instagram Recommends Sexual Reels to Accounts for 13-Year-Olds. The same tests on TikTok and Snapchat did not yield the same results. (The Wall Street Journal)

For us adults, though, some good news about IG: You can now do an Instagram Live to Close Friends only. (Engadget)

Nvidia’s Rally to Most Valuable Stock in the World: How It Happened. It's gone up 591,074% since 1999 (not a typo), but also has had three plummets of over 50% within that time period. Investing favors the patient! (Bloomberg)

Morningstar introduced an LGBTQ+ index. The developed markets LGBTQ+ index will track up to 100 mid and large-cap companies that have strong LGBTQ+ inclusion policies, as measured by ExecuPride. (Morningstar newsroom)

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AI and Future Tech

Anthropic claims its latest AI chatbot model is best-in-class. I like Anthropic's Claude the best personally, only because you can attach documents in a prompt. Big pissing content between all the AI companies right now. (TechCrunch)

AI Doesn’t Kill Jobs? Tell That to Freelancers. Data sets so far this year have found that job postings on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are down as much as 21%, particularly in the fields in which generative AI excels. (The Wall Street Journal)

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LGBTQ+

Digestif

The owner of the gym I go to brings his two corgis in every day now. Their names are Cedric and Klaus.

Every Wednesday I go to a personal trainer for a mix of resistance training and physical therapy. I get my butt kicked! So I've gotten into this routine of hanging out with the dogs after the session to continue cooling down.

They know me now. 🥺

Gyms should totally have therapy dogs. Yes?

After a heavier newsletter issue today, ending on a lighter note felt apropos.

Cheering you on,

—Nick

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