RealPage

RealPage was founded in 1998 with the acquisition of Rent Roll, Inc.,{{cite press release |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rent+Roll,+Inc.+and+RealPage+Communications,+Inc.+Merge.-a053386747 |title=Rent Roll, Inc. and RealPage Communications, Inc. Merge |quote=Three years later, they released their first on-demand property management product and since then, expanded the on-demand software solutions to include a number of value-added services from property management to renter's insurance and more. |work=Business Wire |via=Thefreelibrary.com |date=11 December 1998 |access-date=February 24, 2016 |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303134110/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Rent+Roll,+Inc.+and+RealPage+Communications,+Inc.+Merge.-a053386747 |url-status=live }} a provider of on-premises property management systems for the conventional and affordable multifamily rental housing markets. RealPage moved its corporate headquarters to Richardson, Texas in 2016, and in 2017 acquired four companies: apartment market data provider Axiometrics; utility and energy management company American Utility Management; revenue management and pricing provider Lease Rent Options; and On-Site, a leasing and marketing platform company.{{cite web |url=https://www.housingwire.com/articles/39395-realpage-continues-expansion-with-300-million-acquisition-of-lease-rent-options/ |first=Ben |last=Lane |title=RealPage continues expanding, agrees to buy On-Site for $250 million - Acquiring leasing and marketing platform for rental properties |website=housingwire.com |date=August 2, 2017 |access-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628183426/https://www.housingwire.com/articles/39395-realpage-continues-expansion-with-300-million-acquisition-of-lease-rent-options |url-status=live }}

In 2018, RealPage announced an agreement to purchase electronic payment platform company ClickPay, located in Hackensack, New Jersey.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-realpage-to-acquire-clickpay-for-2/brief-realpage-to-acquire-clickpay-for-218-5-mln-idUSASC09WO4 |title=BRIEF-Realpage To Acquire Clickpay For $218.5 Mln |website=Reuters |date=April 20, 2018 |access-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-date=June 28, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628184745/https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-realpage-to-acquire-clickpay-for-2/brief-realpage-to-acquire-clickpay-for-218-5-mln-idUSASC09WO4 |url-status=live }} In July 2019, RealPage acquired utility management company SimpleBills.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/07/29/realpage-makes-another-purchase-and-this-time-it-s.html |title=RealPage makes another purchase – and this time it's a Texas technology firm |website=Dallas Business Journal |first=Brian |last=Womack |language=en-US |access-date=July 29, 2019 |archive-date=1 February 2024 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240201133748/https://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2019/07/29/realpage-makes-another-purchase-and-this-time-it-s.html |url-status=live }} In December 2019, RealPage acquired Buildium.{{Cite web |url=https://www.realpage.com/news/realpage-acquire-buildium/ |title=RealPage to Acquire Buildium |website=realpage.com |language=en-US |access-date=July 7, 2020 |archive-date=July 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710194808/https://www.realpage.com/news/realpage-acquire-buildium/ |url-status=live }} In January 2020, RealPage has agreed to acquire Modern Message, Inc.{{Cite press release |work=Business Wire |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/realpage-acquire-modern-message-220900126.html |title=RealPage to Acquire Modern Message |via=finance.yahoo.com |language=en-US |access-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-date=February 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206232653/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/realpage-acquire-modern-message-220900126.html |url-status=dead }} In September 2020, RealPage acquired real estate IoT startup Stratis.{{Cite web |first=Frederic |last=Lardinois |url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/31/realpage-acquires-real-estate-iot-startup-stratis/ |title=RealPage acquires real estate IoT startup Stratis |website=techcrunch.com |date=August 31, 2020 |language=en-US |access-date=September 3, 2020 |archive-date=September 4, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904012947/https://techcrunch.com/2020/08/31/realpage-acquires-real-estate-iot-startup-stratis/ |url-status=live }}

In December 2020, private-equity firm Thoma Bravo announced it would acquire RealPage for $9.6 billion, paying $88.75 per share for the company, a premium of 31% for their closing prices at the time. Its shares were reported up 26% that year.{{Cite news|last2=Lombardo |first1=Miriam |last1=Gottfried |first2=Cara |date=December 21, 2020 |title=Thoma Bravo Agrees to Buy RealPage for $9.6 Billion|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/thoma-bravo-agrees-to-buy-realpage-for-9-6-billion-11608526860|access-date=December 22, 2020|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221233018/https://www.wsj.com/articles/thoma-bravo-agrees-to-buy-realpage-for-9-6-billion-11608526860|url-status=live}} The acquisition completed in April 2021.{{cite press release |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005682/en/Thoma-Bravo-Completes-Acquisition-of-RealPage |title=Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of RealPage |access-date=April 22, 2021 |agency=Business Wire |archive-date=April 23, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423162240/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210422005682/en/Thoma-Bravo-Completes-Acquisition-of-RealPage |url-status=live }} In January 2021, RealPage acquired bulk Internet provider WhiteSky.{{Cite press release |title=RealPage® Acquires WhiteSky Communications |date=January 4, 2021 |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210104005190/en/RealPage%C2%AE-Acquires-WhiteSky-Communications |access-date=January 4, 2021 |language=en-US |agency=Business Wire |archive-date=January 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104190417/https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210104005190/en/RealPage%C2%AE-Acquires-WhiteSky-Communications/ |url-status=live }} Later, in May of that same year, RealPage acquired Boingo Wireless's Multifamily Business.{{Cite web|url=https://www.stephens.com/investment-banking/transactions/realpage-inc |title=M&A Advisory: RealPage Has Acquired Boingo's Multifamily Business From Boingo |website=Stephens |date=2021-05-27 |access-date=2024-08-29}}

RealPage has been accused of antitrust violations and price fixing in the rental market.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/story/realpage-says-rental-pricing-tech-is-misunderstood-but-landlords-arent-so-sure/ |last=Hoover |first=Amanda |magazine=Wired |title=RealPage Has Been Accused of Price-Fixing Rents. Now It's on the Offensive |date=17 July 2024 |access-date=11 August 2024 }} Lawsuits against RealPage make the claim that if it is illegal for an individual to engage in price fixing, then it should be illegal when it is done by software or algorithm.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/08/ai-price-algorithms-realpage/679405/ |last=Karma |first=Rogé |magazine=The Atlantic |title=We're Entering an AI Price-Fixing Dystopia |date=10 August 2024 |access-date=11 August 2024 }} The lawsuits also accuse RealPage of pressuring its customers to comply with their pricing suggestions.

In October 2022, ProPublica reported that landlords use RealPage's asset optimization algorithm called YieldStar (later rebranded as AI Revenue Management) to increase rents throughout the United States, naming its users an illegal cartel that encouraged participants to withhold rental units from the market. Approximately 90% of property managers/landlords approve price changes suggested by the software. RealPage's software strongly discourages landlord users from negotiating rent prices with tenants.{{Cite web |last1=Vogell |first1=Heather |last2=Coryne |first2=Haru |last3=Little |first3=Ryan |date=October 15, 2022 |title=Rent Going Up? One Company's Algorithm Could Be Why. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221015090448/https://www.propublica.org/article/yieldstar-rent-increase-realpage-rent |archive-date=October 15, 2022 |access-date=October 15, 2022 |website=ProPublica |language=en-US}} In November 2022, the United States Department of Justice's Antitrust Division opened an investigation into RealPage, which is accused of contributing to higher rent prices throughout the United States. The company's YieldStar software is alleged to use an algorithm to "help landlords push the highest possible rents on tenants."{{cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=November 26, 2022 |title=The DOJ is reportedly investigating rent-setting software company RealPage |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479034/doj-investigating-rent-setting-software-company-realpage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126175958/https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479034/doj-investigating-rent-setting-software-company-realpage |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |access-date=November 26, 2022 |website=The Verge}} In November 2023, Attorney General of the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb filed an antitrust price-fixing lawsuit against RealPage and more than a dozen of the largest apartment building landlords in Washington, D.C., accusing them of illegally conspiring to set rental prices artificially high by sharing competitively sensitive data using RealPage's revenue management platform.{{Cite news |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2023-11-02 |title=DC sues tech company RealPage, landlords over rental prices |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/dc-sues-tech-company-realpage-landlords-over-rental-prices-2023-11-01/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20231103102559/https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/dc-sues-tech-company-realpage-landlords-over-rental-prices-2023-11-01/ |archive-date=2023-11-03 |access-date=2024-05-23 |work=Reuters}}

In April 2023, more than 20 private civil antitrust lawsuits against RealPage, which had been filed primarily on behalf of renters of multifamily apartments and which alleged that the company illegally conspired to keep prices above market rates, were consolidated in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee.{{Cite news |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2023-04-10 |title=RealPage antitrust lawsuits over rent prices consolidated in Tennessee |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/realpage-antitrust-lawsuits-over-rent-prices-consolidated-tennessee-2023-04-10/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |work=Reuters}} In November 2023, the US Justice Department filed a "statement of interest" in support of the lawsuits, arguing that the use of shared data and algorithms must "be subject to the same condemnation" as other price-fixing schemes.{{Cite news |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2023-11-16 |title=Renters suing RealPage get US backing in pricing lawsuits |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/renters-suing-realpage-get-us-backing-pricing-lawsuits-2023-11-16/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231118174532/https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/renters-suing-realpage-get-us-backing-pricing-lawsuits-2023-11-16/ |archive-date=2023-11-18 |access-date=2024-05-22 |work=Reuters}}{{Cite web |last=Vogell |first=Heather |date=2023-11-16 |title=DOJ Backs Tenants in Case Alleging Price-Fixing by Big Landlords and a Real Estate Tech Company |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/doj-backs-tenants-price-fixing-case-big-landlords-real-estate-tech |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116212843/https://www.propublica.org/article/doj-backs-tenants-price-fixing-case-big-landlords-real-estate-tech |archive-date=2023-11-16 |access-date=2024-05-23 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} In December 2023, Chief US District Judge Waverly Crenshaw denied RealPage's bid to dismiss the consolidated lawsuits.{{Cite news |last=Scarcella |first=Mike |date=2023-12-29 |title=RealPage must face renters' price-fixing lawsuit over multifamily housing |url=https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/realpage-must-face-renters-price-fixing-lawsuit-over-multifamily-housing-2023-12-29/ |access-date=2024-05-23 |work=Reuters}} In August 2024, the Department of Justice along with the Attorneys General of eight states filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against RealPage, alleging that the company engaged in an "unlawful scheme to decrease competition among landlords" and sought "to monopolize the market for commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments," thereby harming millions of renters by depriving them of the benefits of competition.{{Cite web |date=23 August 2024 |title=Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-realpage-algorithmic-pricing-scheme-harms-millions-american-renters |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240823161207/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-realpage-algorithmic-pricing-scheme-harms-millions-american-renters |archive-date=2024-08-23 |access-date=2024-08-23 |website=United States Department of Justice}}{{Cite web |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=2024-08-23 |title=US sues RealPage over rent-setting software that allegedly drove up prices |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/23/24226885/doj-realpage-antitrust-lawsuit-rent-fixing-software |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240823171803/https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/23/24226885/doj-realpage-antitrust-lawsuit-rent-fixing-software |archive-date=2024-08-23 |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=The Verge |language=en}}

In January 2024, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Peter Welch introduced federal legislation, titled the Preventing the Algorithmic Facilitation of Rental Housing Cartels Act of 2024, that would ban the coordination of rental housing price information, as well as prohibiting the use of services of companies such as RealPage and Yardi that allow landlords to coordinate rental housing prices.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-30 |title=Wyden and Welch Introduce Legislation to Crack down on Companies that Inflate Rents with Price-Fixing Algorithms |url=https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-and-welch-introduce-legislation-to-crack-down-on-companies-that-inflate-rents-with-price-fixing-algorithms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240816223958/https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-and-welch-introduce-legislation-to-crack-down-on-companies-that-inflate-rents-with-price-fixing-algorithms |archive-date=2024-08-16 |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=www.wyden.senate.gov |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Vogell |first=Heather |date=2024-01-30 |title=We Found That Landlords Could Be Using Algorithms to Fix Rent Prices. Now Lawmakers Want to Make the Practice Illegal. |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-introduce-legislation-stop-landlords-algorithm-price-fixing |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240822055342/https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-introduce-legislation-stop-landlords-algorithm-price-fixing |archive-date=2024-08-22 |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=ProPublica |language=en}} In August 2024, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance banning landlords from using software or algorithms, such as those offered by RealPage and Yardi, to set rents or manage occupancy within the city.

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web |title=U.S. v. Agri Stats, Inc. |url=https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-11/agri_stats_amended_complaint_11.06.pdf |website=Justice.gov |access-date=January 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240204172532/https://www.justice.gov/d9/2023-11/agri_stats_amended_complaint_11.06.pdf |archive-date=February 4, 2024}}

• {{Official website|https://realpage.com}}

Category:1998 establishments in Texas

Category:2021 mergers and acquisitions

Category:Business software companies

Category:Property management companies

Category:Software companies based in Texas

Category:Companies based in Richardson, Texas

Category:Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq

Category:Software companies established in 1998

Category:Software companies of the United States

Category:American companies established in 1998

Category:Private equity portfolio companies