RealPage started in 1998 by buying a company called Rent Roll. It grew into the software that ran millions of American apartments. Landlords used it to market units, screen applicants, collect rent, pay bills and, most controversially, set prices. When it went public in August 2010, the housing crash had pushed millions of families from owning to renting, and apartment owners wanted every tool that could fill units and raise income.

Every Task a Landlord Has

Steve Winn formed the company in 1998 to acquire Rent Roll and led it as chairman and CEO. RealPage's bet was that property managers would buy one suite for the whole job instead of a dozen separate tools. It sold its software on demand over the web and kept adding products by acquisition. Its revenue management tools used data from many buildings to recommend what each unit should rent for.

From IPO to Antitrust

RealPage priced its IPO at $11 a share in August 2010 and listed on Nasdaq as RP. The shares rose about 32 percent on the first day. The company kept growing for a decade. In 2021 Thoma Bravo took it private for $10.2 billion. In 2024 the Justice Department sued RealPage, claiming its pricing software let landlords push rents up together.

Cover: Ontario Apartments, Chicago, Illinois, Elevation, Treat & Foltz. Art Institute of Chicago, public domain. Chosen for an apartment building elevation (rental housing).