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Peter Dazeley/Getty Images April 11, 2022 Mia Taylor is a contributor to Bankrate and an award-winning journalist who has two decades of experience and worked as a staff reporter or contributor for some of the nation's leading newspapers and websites including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the San Diego Union-Tribune, TheStreet, MSN and Credit.com. Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions an individual will ever make. Our real estate reporters and editors focus on educating consumers about this life-changing transaction and how to navigate the complex and ever-changing housing market. From finding an agent to closing and beyond, our goal is to help you feel confident that you're making the best, and smartest, real estate deal possible. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
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You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re likely to hear the term MLS, which stands for Multiple Listing Service. The MLS is a platform used by and brokers to share information about properties for sale and find available listings for prospective buyers. If you’re or considering , your local MLS will likely be an important part of the process.
What is the MLS or Multiple Listing Service
In real estate, the MLS is a database of homes for sale in a particular geographic region. When real estate agents list a property for sale, they add it to the MLS database, allowing all agents and brokers in the region who have access to the system to review the listing. Buyers’ agents use the MLS to find homes to show clients. The information listed on the MLS includes pictures and detailed descriptions of the homes for sale. Realtors and brokers pay membership dues to access their local MLS database. Though it may seem like a modern development, the concept of a multiple listing service dates back to the late 1800s. In those times, real estate agents periodically met to share information about the properties they had for sale, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). Over time, this information sharing took place via books or index cards and then eventually via computer, as it still does today. Sharing property listings on the MLS makes it possible for small real estate offices to compete with large, franchised firms. Rather than only being able to show clients the listings their own office represents, this cooperation allows brokers and agents to access the listings of the other agents in their region, and vice versa.
How is the MLS created
MLSs are private databases, . Each region’s MLS is created, maintained and paid for by real estate professionals in that local area. Real estate agents share their listings on the MLS, uploading detailed information and pictures about each listing. The information available on the MLS databases is updated regularly by participating agents and brokers. Homeowners who are selling their property can work with agents or brokers to have their home added to the MLS, but cannot add homes to the MLS on their own.
How many MLSs are there
There are currently , according to the Real Estate Standards Organization — though that number rises and falls year-to-year amid regional consolidation. They also exist in Canada, though to a lesser degree. In other countries however, the use of an MLS is less widespread. “The United States is unusual in this way,” says Katie Severance, an agent with Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Palm Beach, Florida, and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Selling Your Home. “Internationally, most countries don’t have MLSs, or if they do, they don’t cover a whole lot of the market.” There are also rare U.S. markets that do not have an MLS. New York City is one such example. While there is no MLS in New York City, there are other local services in use that syndicate available real estate listings.
Does the MLS contain every single home for sale
The vast majority of homes available for sale are included on the MLS. But there are exceptions — homes that are sold without ever appearing on the MLS. “Homes that are strictly will typically not be found on the MLS database,” says Jen Horner, an agent with RE/MAX Masters in Salt Lake City, Utah. The same might be true for homes listed by certain brokerages, she says: “Large brokerages can carry listings on their own proprietary databases only and choose not to place their housing inventory on the MLS system.” The NAR addresses this issue with its for member Realtors, which requires that “within one business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants.” Pocket listings and off-market sales
are homes that are not marketed in the typical ways. These listings are sometimes referred to as exclusive or off-market listings. Rather than being included on the MLS, the seller instead keeps the property quietly “in their pocket” — hence the name. “This situation usually arises when a seller is not interested in publicly marketing the home for privacy reasons, or is willing to hold on the sale until the right buyer makes an offer that cannot be refused,” Horner says.
Can I access my local MLS without an agent
Only licensed real estate agents and brokers can list properties on the MLS. However, in certain regions, anyone can view MLS listings without professional assistance. “Some regional MLS databases have a ‘public-facing side’ so consumers can access the same listings, shadowing the agent’s side,” says Severance. “The only difference is that the agent side has a little more information about showings, property access, how to submit offers, agency and commission cooperation and the ability to run a market analysis.” In addition, many brokers provide their clients access to view listings. Again, though, members of the public will not have access to all of the same data that agents and brokers do. Bottom line
The MLS allows agents and brokers within a particular market to share information about real estate listings. It’s useful for home sellers in that it helps expose their properties to a far larger audience. And it’s also very useful for buyers, making it far more convenient to find all of the properties for sale in a geographic region when working with an agent or broker. SHARE: Mia Taylor is a contributor to Bankrate and an award-winning journalist who has two decades of experience and worked as a staff reporter or contributor for some of the nation's leading newspapers and websites including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the San Diego Union-Tribune, TheStreet, MSN and Credit.com. Michele Petry is a senior editor for Bankrate, leading the site’s real estate content. Related Articles