Source: Am an APM at an ok high rise in central Baltimore. Yes and no. We all do market surveys to see what other people are offering/what the specials are etc… But honestly, we just call because we’re too lazy to look on the websites.

Market Surveys used to be used for “competitive pricing” but we’re all switching to systems like Rent Max that get the data of what the apartments are going for every day and set our prices. So we’re not price fixing anymore, it’s a large, billion dollar multi-national corporation that does it for us. One of the big companies that does this is also being investigated by an AG because of this shit. This is why apartment prices have gotten so high, because they are changed daily to constantly have the highest possible price (and to price out section 8, but I digress).

Also, we need to “shop” other properties so that we know what our comps are. Like Yes, this property down the street has XYZ but we have ABC. It also is a teaching tool for learning how to lease.

But yeah, since 2019, the cost of the extract same 1 bedroom, with no renovations No nothing, has gone up $300-400. And that’s just in Baltimore city. It’s not much better in the rest of the state from what I’ve heard.

But yes this is all completely legal. And anyplace that isn’t a private landlord is doing this. Apartment companies like Buzzuto/Morgan/Southern/WPM are some of the largest employers and housing developers/landlords in the state. They leave and a lot of money for the date and the politicians pockets are gone.