The landlord can raise the price because the supply of new apartments is low. With limited supply, the supply/demand equilibrium is going to a higher point.
Why is there a limited supply if people need places to rent?
Governmental regulation, financial regulation (e.g. Freddie Mac & Fanny Mae), zoning laws, overregulation on building that eats the margins and the with low supply the most profitable market is for "luxury" apartments with wider margins.
So if you want cheaper rent it's not that the landlord is greedy, it's that his greed can thrive because the market forces aren't working.
As Adam smith in 1776 wrote:
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
e.g. it's not from the benevolence of the landlord that we expect low prices, but from their regard of their own interest to rent the property that competes with many other properties available to rent.
Why is there a limited supply if people need places to rent? Governmental regulation, financial regulation (e.g. Freddie Mac & Fanny Mae), zoning laws, overregulation on building that eats the margins and the with low supply the most profitable market is for "luxury" apartments with wider margins.
So if you want cheaper rent it's not that the landlord is greedy, it's that his greed can thrive because the market forces aren't working.
As Adam smith in 1776 wrote: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest."
e.g. it's not from the benevolence of the landlord that we expect low prices, but from their regard of their own interest to rent the property that competes with many other properties available to rent.