With the advent of the internet more and more people are doing their own home buying research. It is not unusual for a new client to call me already knowing what neighborhood, price and sometimes even what house they are looking for.
One of the most powerful tools for researching real estate in the MLS or Multiple listing service. An online database of all the houses being sold in any given area. It includes information about such things as location, price and amenities. For most of it’s existence the MLS has been a closely guarded tool of real estate professionals. Today more and more realtors, like myself are making access to the MLS available to their customers.
A little history
The MLS is a powerful, high tech tool but surprisingly it actually started in 1907. Real estate agents would get together regularly to discuss the properties they had for sale and network with the goal of connecting buyers and sellers.
The MLS is not a single database it’s actually a collection of about 700 local databases that pretty much cover the entire country. Each database is extremely territorial and agents need to pay dues to access their region’s listings. Depending on geography some agents subscribe to more than one. [Click here to see why you need a native Angeleno as your realtor]
I created a video discussing this development click here to watch it
Selling your home using the MLS
If you are selling your home you cannot post it directly to the MLS. Access is limited to licensed realtors who pay a fee. If a realtor has a client selling a home they take all the pertinent information like square footage, asking price and number of rooms and create a listing that contains these details. Hopefully they also throw in some some striking photographs of the property for sale.
Can you afford the mortgage you want? Find out here.
When an agent logs into the MLS all this posted information is available to them as well as other items like disclosures and HOA regulations that can be uploaded to the listing page.
See it for yourself
As you can see the MLS is a very useful tool that makes buying and selling a home much more efficient.
I am more than happy to offer you access to the MLS. Click below, start your search by zip code, specific area or neighborhood, filter by price and see all the homes listed in that area at any given time.
The MLS is doubly useful if you use it in conjunction with our exclusive “Market Insider” feature. You can enter any zip code and immediately get a snapshot of the neighborhood that includes median home prices, average days on the market and local schools. You can access it here.
