No, they don’t, the optimal amount of units vacant is not zero to begin with, and in fact the profit-maximizing number of vacant units is likely considerably higher than the market-optimal price.
Sellers like a market with constricted supply, it’s like nobody remembers OPEC. And with a computer program to tell them when to leave units vacant and when to raise the price, they’ve outsourced the cartel actions.
Anyway, this is another "thinking econ-101 charts are real" oopsie. Everyone likes the nice single-line supply/demand charts. But profit-maximizing often isn't the same thing as market-clearing for a variety of reasons. The whole point of the rent-cartel program was that it's better to raise 95% of rents and leave 5% of units vacant than to have 100% of units with a lower more competitive rate. But also things like the materials used to produce goods having their own price curves with prices rising as their own demands increase etc. A "market clearing" price in an efficient market leaves zero profit for producers by definition, nobody wants that, so we inherently live in some combination of inefficient market and above-clearing prices.
Vacancy rates across the country are at all time lows. Im sympathetic to the collusion with realpage argument, but with vacancy rates this low Im not buying it.
Sellers like a market with constricted supply, it’s like nobody remembers OPEC. And with a computer program to tell them when to leave units vacant and when to raise the price, they’ve outsourced the cartel actions.
Anyway, this is another "thinking econ-101 charts are real" oopsie. Everyone likes the nice single-line supply/demand charts. But profit-maximizing often isn't the same thing as market-clearing for a variety of reasons. The whole point of the rent-cartel program was that it's better to raise 95% of rents and leave 5% of units vacant than to have 100% of units with a lower more competitive rate. But also things like the materials used to produce goods having their own price curves with prices rising as their own demands increase etc. A "market clearing" price in an efficient market leaves zero profit for producers by definition, nobody wants that, so we inherently live in some combination of inefficient market and above-clearing prices.