Why the Multiple Listing Service is an essential tool in real estate.
The spring market is up and running. More properties are being listed, there’s a lot of buyer activity, and interest rates have jumped up a bit.
Today I want to focus on a topic that you may not know a lot about: our multiple listing service. It’s also known as the MLS, one of the many acronyms we use regularly in the real estate industry. Over the years, I’ve found that people who haven’t bought or sold a home before might be looking at properties that aren’t actually on the MLS, so I wanted to explain why it’s so important to use that feed and why it’s such a good tool for Realtors, buyers, and sellers.
The MLS was designed to be a platform where Realtors can offer compensation to other brokers and their sales associates for bringing a buyer to purchase a property.
When I’m working with a home seller, their property is going to go on the MLS. That’s the main source of information you’ll see on other sites like Zillow and Realtor.com. They get their data directly from the MLS. We value it because it’s full of up-to-date, accurate information.
“Many of the other websites that use the MLS feed have a delay.”
The key benefit of using the MLS is that we can share accurate information with our buyer and seller clients. It gives homeowners maximum exposure to the marketplace, and it provides buyers essential information about a property instantly, including price and status changes. Many of the other websites that use the MLS feed have a delay, and the information isn’t always accurate.
We’re still in a seller’s market with lots of multiple-offer situations. I ended up showing a property last weekend that received 43 offers. It was the power of the MLS that brought all of these buyers to the table.
If you have any questions about the MLS, buying or selling a home, or anything else related to real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
