Bringing Transparency to Renting

Today, I found that Rentberry allows you to bid for rent.

I read a post saying that Rentberry will kick out all the lower income people….

hmmm?

Overall, things are more efficient when there is more information and competition. Rentberry does exactly that. It brings transparency to pricing and makes the market competitive by attracting more landlords and renters.

So why the hate? I agree that some popular areas will have higher rents. But! other inflated areas will have lower than rents so overall this will be a plus for everyone because the average utility will go up.

However, people argue that this will cause lot of distress for those who can’t pay a higher rent.

I actually do not agree with this statement.

First, it may take time but if the rent is high, more builders will come in and build more units and in the long run, rent will go down. Of course, defining the long run is hard but given some time, higher rents cannot persist indefinitely unless there are regulations and other restrictions.

Second, there are areas that had inflated rent prices. These places will have to lower their rents, which will make it more affordable.

Third, I am not sure why people insist on living in a specific place if they cannot afford it. If I complain because I can’t afford a yacht, people will think that I am nuts. But if I say I want to continue to live in Manhattan then some people will support me. Let us remember that housing is also a form of consumption. Of course, it may be more important than other types of consumptions but it is still under the laws of economics.

Now what should we do with housing affordability?

The easiest answer is to move to a place that is more affordable. However, this is not so easy given the ties to the area from job to family.

Having better public transportation that promotes commutes from less expensive areas is a solution but would take lot of time given the regulatory process.

Microapartments and other types of small space living is also a potential solution but not for everyone.

Making other cities more appealing like NYC, LA, SF, and DC is a long term solution. But so far, it has a long way to go.

….Well, we will keep thinking of potential solutions.