What is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)?
Please note: |
It is generally accepted that the Multiple Listing Service, Property Information Network, Inc. (MLSpin.com) is the largest MLS network within the state of Massachusetts (and according to their website, the largest in New England) and Cape Cod & Islands Multiple Listing Service, Inc. (capeandislandsmls.com) is the second largest. |
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a regional or local joint venture of real estate brokers, typically operated by a local group of brokers affiliated with the National Association of Realtors (NAR), who pool and disseminate information on homes available for sale in their particular geographic areas.
The MLS combines its members' home listings information into a database, usually in electronic form. The MLS then makes these data available to all brokers who are members of the MLS.
By listing information on a home in the MLS, a broker can market it to a large set of potential buyers. A cooperating broker likewise can search the MLS to provide a home buyer with information about all the listed homes in the area that match the buyer's housing needs.
MLS networks are the primary source of home listings information because they contain real time information on virtually every home listed for sale in a given area, except “for sale by owner” (FSBO) homes.
Most MLSs require that a member broker, upon acceptance of a listing, enter the listing into the MLS database within a short period of time, e.g., twenty-four (24) to seventy- two (72) hours.
Although the specific data fields on each listing are determined by the individual MLS, they all typically include:
- Detailed descriptions of the homes for sale
- Asking price
- Offer of compensation that will be paid to a cooperating broker who finds a suitable buyer
- Name of the listing broker
The MLS allows broker members to search and filter homes based on detailed criteria, including but not limited to:
- Property information
- Geographical location
- Neighborhood information
- Offers made on the home
- List price
- Prior sales history
- Days on the market
In addition to the database of currently available homes, an MLS maintains a database of homes sold through the MLS. Brokers can use this database to provide their clients with information on sales of comparable homes so that the clients can more accurately value their homes or determine the amount to bid on a home.
The MLS also operates an arbitration mechanism to resolve compensation disputes between listing and cooperating brokers. For example, if a cooperating broker secures a buyer for a transaction and can establish through arbitration that he or she was the "procuring cause" of the sale, then the listing broker is liable for the cooperative compensation.