What is the MLS?

Photo by realestateskills.com

We all know Zillow and Realtor.com, but what is the MLS? The Multiple Listing Service is a huge database of home listings and it’s what most real estate agents and appraisers use. Thanks to this realtor.com article, we can help explain it!

The term “multiple listing” was coined in 1907. It described the practice of real estate agents gathering regularly at offices and conferences to discuss and give info about homes they were trying to sell. In 1908, the National Association of Real Estate Exchanges, the organization which would later become the National Association of Realtors, recommended and fully endorsed the use of this system by all agents.

The MLS is made up of 580 regional databases, each with its own listings. An agent must pay dues to access and post homes on each one. Many agents will join more than one MLS database in the hopes of broadening the search for their buyers or tapping into another region’s market.

Home sellers cannot post their home directly to the MLS. Access to the database is limited to licensed real estate agents and brokers who pay for their membership. Agents can gather comparable information to share with their sellers before putting it on the market. This is a HUGE benefit to a seller because Mississippi is a non-disclosure state. (We will explain that in another blog.) Once the agent has a listing, they post it to the MLS (square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, neighborhood, other attributes, etc.) along with photos and disclosure documents.

Sellers who choose to list their home For Sale By Owner (FSBO) are at a disadvantage in the state of Mississippi because of its non-disclosure status. There is no way to know what a home sold for in a neighborhood or surrounding neighborhood unless a seller is working with a realtor and that realtor can access the MLS (or the home owner who sold willingly shares the information).