What is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)?
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a database of homes for sale. There is not actually one MLS, but rather hundreds of MLS systems across the country that each serve a particular market area. In some markets, there can be more than one MLS service the same or overlapping areas. MLS systems were originally established so that real estate brokers and agents had a common system for advertising home listings, and for establishing the fees and conditions for the agents/brokers who represent the buyer and seller of a property. The MLS is thus an important part of how real estate brokers do business – it is the common database of listings, and it lets each agent and broker know not just the price and characteristics of a property, but also the basis for how they will be compensated if they represent a buyer for that listing.
The REALTOR® MLS is the primary database used by Realtors® to market and sell property. The MLS is an exclusive database of all of the properties “listed” for sale in the regional area of coverage. This database is generally owned and used exclusively by REALTORS® and provides them with information about all of the available properties for sale. REALTORS® use this system to cooperate on the sale of each other’s listed properties and share in the commissions.
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the largest online database of homes for sale in your region, as well as around the country. Only Realtors have access to the MLS, but a similar website, Realtor.com, is available to all Internet users. The majority of homes sold in the United States are sold through MLS.
The Multiple Listing Service, commonly referred to as the “MLS,” may not be what you think it is. When asked, most people say, “a database” or “a list of homes for sale.” In fact, the MLS Austin is much more than that. (You can view the contents of the MLS right now by using our Austin Home Search).
