What is MLS in real estate? If you’ve ever purchased a home or considered doing so, you’ve more than likely used a multiple listing service to see what homes are out there for you to consider.
The MLS is a massive nationwide aggregation of private regional databases (580 to be specific) listing properties on the market in their coverage areas. Local real estate agents use the MLS to offer their clients an array of homes to consider.
Read through this article. You’ll understand those very appealing real estate listings on Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia much better.
So, Just What Is MLS in Real Estate?
Of course, professional networking has long been an established practice. So it isn’t surprising that the idea of a “multiple listing service” for real estate began in the late 1800s.
Back then, real estate agents were meeting regularly to exchange information about homes they wanted to sell.
Decades ago, real estate booklets, brochures, and newspaper listings were the way to go at the local level. And the multiple listing service was a paper guide to MLS, much like an old phone book, listed these items about homes for sale in the region:
- Street address
- Annual property tax amount
- Room dimensions
- Lot size
- Asking price
- Remarks/description
- Directions
- Seller’s phone number
- Listing broker’s phone number
Seeing these old-style real estate listings should give you a sense of what the Internet has done for MLS real estate listings and the real estate industry overall.
Local Listings and Multiple Listing Services
Once a homeowner has decided to sell and hires a real estate agent, that agent assists them with the steps needed to prepare the home for listing. When it’s ready, the agent enters it into the MLS database.
The agent then markets the home to other area agents and brokerage members of the MLS in the hope of the seller receiving many offers.
Most listings today are online. Still, a local real estate agent adds value behind the scenes. Their work determines a home’s value, prepares it for showings, markets it, and fulfills many other responsibilities.
Although those taking the FSBO route must do all this work independently, they can pay to have their homes included in the MLS. That’s why multiple listing services like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com include FSBO listings.
MLS Real Estate Listings and Recent Innovations
One very significant innovation in real estate listings has been the open listing concept. Home sellers use several possible selling methods to bypass the real estate agent and the commissions they earn.
The MLS Property Information Network (MLSPIN) covers Greater Boston. This entity has been described as a “new and innovative rebrand” of the former Bay State Multiple Listing Service, Inc.
In other words, this business is leading the way into the third decade of C21 for the real estate industry and how it conceptualizes and brands its services.
What’s in Store for Real Estate Listings
What is MLS in real estate? Well, it’s changed so much since the idea caught on over a century ago that it’s hard to say what it is today. It’s even harder to say where it’s headed in the future.
We know that, as with any industry that’s been changed by the Internet, real estate needs to find ever more new rebranding strategies. It also must develop new ways to keep its newly empowered consumers.
Say, if you enjoy learning about real estate—any aspect of it—you need to keep reading our articles. We cover real estate, along with every other sector of the business world.
