How is the MLS different from Zillow?
Zillow is primarily an advertising company, meaning they display properties for sale to attract a large consumer audience. Some of these people are active buyers, some are just casual browsers.
The Multiple Listing Service, on the other hand, is the platform virtually all real estate agents in the market working with serious, active buyers, rely on to serve those buyers.
The Multiple Listing Service is also how agents representing buyers get information on how to show buyers homes for sale outside of open house times. These “showings” are done under rules the Multiple Listing Service sets to ensure safety and privacy.
How do I know what my home is worth?
There are lots of home valuation tools online, but these all produce ballpark figures based on data scraped together from sometimes spotty sources.
For the most accurate and up-to-date home value, there’s simply no substitute for the expertise of a real estate agent who’s In The KnowTM. Your agent has access to decades of data through their Multiple Listing Service, which tracks every detail of home listings and sales over the past several decades. That means they can make suggestions based on historical data and current market patterns.
How do I know that my agent will share my listing with every active buyer?
Once your agent lists your home on the Multiple Listing Service, it’s on display for every agent working with an active buyer. Agents can search based on square footage, beds/baths, acreage, and more.
Will buyers outside of my agent’s brokerage be able to find out about my open house?
Yes. Open house information is stored and shared between agents on the Multiple Listing Service. Buyers’ agents can search and share open houses with their clients, so long as the information has been uploaded onto the Multiple Listing Service by the listing agent.
How does my listing get seen by buyers in other markets?
While there is no national Multiple Listing service, nearly all 600 local Multiple Listing Services across the United States are committed to the same set of rules around how they formulate and use their data.
This makes it easy to send your listing to nearly every destination online across the country and around the world.
Will my personal information be safe?
Yes. While some data on the Multiple Listing Service can be accessed by the public, private information like whether or not the home is vacant, times of day available for walk-throughs, and entry information are kept private, only accessible by registered real estate agents/members of the Multiple Listing Service.