• ramjambamalam@lemmy.ca
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    1 year ago

    Is there any evidence that landlords are colliding on prices? That usually doesn’t happen in a market with a sufficient (non-ologopoly) number of sellers.

    • cheery_coffee@lemmy.ca
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      1 year ago

      They don’t need to collude, if you own a mortgage on a home and you’re renting it, a rate hike has just increased your costs and so you need to increase your price.

      It’s pretty well established that there’s a housing shortage.

      • ramjambamalam@lemmy.ca
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        1 year ago

        I’m just a little confused by your “greedy landlords” descriptor. The price is dictated by the market, not any particular party. After all as you say, there’s a housing shortage, so prices are up.

        • cheery_coffee@lemmy.ca
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          1 year ago

          The price is determined by the market but real estate in Canada is not an efficient market.

          Maybe greedy is not needed, but it’s my belief that landlords do not create a significant market force for additional housing in our market, which is the argument for their existence.