With so many houses on the market, selling your house can be challenging. Since most home buyers only see nine homes on average before putting in an offer, you want to make sure as many buyers see your home as possible.
Getting noticed by buyers without a realtor is tougher than most people think. When you’re choosing between using a realtor or selling your home yourself, you may discover that working with a realtor to sell your home has its benefits.
If your realtor is part of a multiple listing service (or MLS), you can easily expand your listing’s reach and quickly sell your home. But what is an MLS? Here’s everything you need to know about how multiple listing services work.
How Does a Multiple Listing Service Work?
You may think that most buyers are browsing home listing sites searching for the right house. However, despite the growing popularity of sites like Zillow and Redfin, many buyers prefer to leave the legwork to a realtor.
An MLS is a private database that showcases listed homes to a network of real estate brokers. One of the reasons buyers choose to work with realtors is because they receive early access to listings from their MLS connection.
Think of the MLS as a big online networking group for agents. Seller’s agents want to sell their clients’ houses, so they share the listing online with nearby buyer’s agents. This can ensure that both the seller’s agent and buyer’s agent get paid for the home sale.
Brokers within a certain brokerage company or regional area can get together and form an MLS. Companies like Showcase IDX allow brokers to share listings from their MLS database directly to their website. This means your home can be featured front and center on the realty company’s website, leading to more showings!
How Can an MLS Help Me Sell My Home?
If you sell your home yourself, you likely won’t have access to an MLS. In this case, a buyer would have to stumble upon your home themselves on a public listing site. Brokers and real estate agents may not even be aware that your home is on the market and available for showings.
An MLS will offer more information than what’s available on a listing website. This can include your preferences for showings, which can help realtors show your home more often. An MLS listing also includes contact information for the listing agent so that an offer can be made as soon as possible.
When realtors share your home with prospective buyers, it can dramatically increase the number of showings your house gets. Advanced filtering can ensure brokers are showing your house to buyers based on their unique preferences. When you include your home in a local MLS, you can get an offer much more quickly than trying to sell your home yourself.
Selling Your Home Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
No one wants to leave their home sitting on the market for months. Sharing your house on a local multiple listing service can help you get an offer faster. If you’re trying to find interested buyers in your area, an MLS can ensure your home is on their radar.
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