What is the MLS and How Does It Work?

When it come to selling your home, whether on your own or through a broker, the MLS or Multiple Listings Service is essential to success. Recent studies have reported that of everyone trying to sell their home without a broker, only 16% are successful without using the MLS. Even with its immense amount of usefulness, many people still do not understand exactly what it is or how it works.

What is the MLS?

The MLS, also known as the Multiple Listings Service, is a database of all available properties within a specific regional area. The database is the culmination of cooperating brokerages and includes listings that are currently on the market, have a sale that is pending, as well as already sold. It is normally a safe assumption that all, or nearly all, of the brokerages in a given area list their properties as well as agree to share in the sales commission of the properties.

What this means, is that if you hire a broker to sell your home, and a different broker actually finds the buyer, through the MLS, then the two brokers will share the commission. The reason that the MLS is a big advantage for people who are selling their home, is because every broker is trying to get your house sold. Buyer's agents will always look at the Multiple Listings Service database first in order to match buyers with their dream homes.

How Does the MLS Work?

While the underlying concept of the MLS is simple, there are some details that both buyers and sellers need to understand. The information relating to properties that are for sale often include: square footage, total lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as special features that are unique to the property. Photos or links to virtual tours are often included as well. This makes it easy for buyers to find your home. In order to make sure that all of the information accurate, it is important to always request a copy of your listing from your broker as soon as it is listed. There is nothing worse than getting potential buyers only to find out they were mis-informed.

Why Sellers Benefit From MLS

The Multiple Listings System is excellent for sellers, because it immediately grows your sales force exponentially. Once your home is listed, every broker that represents a buyer will potentially look at your home. Additionally, it gives your broker an easy way to get an idea of your neighborhood and how well home sell, and for what price. Using MLS as a research tool can make sure that your home gets priced right the first time, thus shortening the time that it is on the market.

Why Buyers Benefit From MLS

The MLS is a huge benefit for buyers. Not only is it free, but it is a great way to see what your options really are. You can utilize the database to gather and sort the information in any way that you want.

The MLS has proven to be a critical tool for success, for both sellers and buyers, and now that you have a better understanding of what MLS is and how it works, make sure to use it to your advantage.