As housing costs continue to dominate local politics, city leaders across the country are under growing pressure to “do something” about rising rents. Increasingly, that has led to proposals for rent control and restrictions on pricing technology used by property managers. But software does not create housing shortages. Nor does it eliminate them. While those ideas may generate headlines, they risk distracting policymakers from the real challenge: America simply does not have enough housing.

The numbers tell the story. Estimates from housing researchers place the nation’s housing shortage somewhere between 4 million and 7 million homes. That supply gap has accumulated due to years of underbuilding, restrictive zoning, lengthy permitting processes, and local opposition to new development. When demand consistently exceeds supply, prices rise.

That reality has left many renters struggling. In communities across the country, housing costs have grown faster than income, forcing families to devote an increasing share of their paychecks to rent. Understandably, elected officials are searching for solutions. The problem is that some are focusing on the symptoms rather than the cause.

Markets function best when participants compete fairly and transparently. When it comes to software pricing tools, the Department of Justice deserves more........

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