How to get a good rental price from YieldStar?

December 4, 2007 4:03 PM

How do I give myself the best chance of getting low rent at an apartment complex that uses YieldStar software? We have our hearts set on a place in downtown Dalas, but they use this software, which determines pricing for apartments based on market factors, much like the software airlines use. Anyone have any experience with it?

We want to move in March, if that helps at all. The guy who showed us the place said he's seen the price of the apartment we're interested in range from $1,400 to $1,700, which is a pretty big swing. Would like to get it toward the $1,400 end of the dial.

posted by phantroll to Technology (3 answers total)

From an article about them:

Using complex algorithms, revenue management software leverages user-defined base pricing (including available unit options and amenities) against historical market and submarket economic data to calculate the optimal price for any given unit on any given day. Leasing agents will likely tell you that there's no machine that can more accurately price out your portfolio, but Callison says eliminating that type of human emotion is exactly where LRO finds its sweet spot.

“It enables us to make bold pricing moves that frankly may be counterintuitive or uncomfortable at the gut level of instinct for a lot of human beings,” Callison explains. “Human nature fights against pushing rents as high as the market will bear.” In New York, for example, LRO has recommended achievable rent increases of 15 percent to 20 percent where human operators for Archstone were traditionally satisfied with 10 percent jumps.

These people are cockroaches. Run away from them.
posted by aeschenkarnos at 6:12 PM on December 4, 2007

I can't see any way to influence this software that isn't illegal or more trouble than it's worth - Either screw with the information you're giving them (Make the software believe you can't reliably pay $1700, but can reliably pay $1400), screw with the market(to drive down the metrics it's using & Lower the rents surrounding your target), or screw the machine they're running it on(Ex: a Back Orifice install, combined with some offsite data changing would do the trick), to skew it in your favor.

But I agree with aeschenkarnos above: What are you going to do when the software tells them that they'd be better off not extending your lease two years from now?
posted by Orb2069 at 6:53 PM on December 4, 2007

Response by poster: That'd be fine with me. I only want to live in the place for a year, then I'm moving out of town. Just want to time it right this time. And you're right, it's pretty evil. But I betcha more and more places start doing this, and it's time to start figuring out how to game the system the same way people have done for years with airlines. Thanks for your thoughts.
posted by phantroll at 7:08 AM on December 20, 2007