|
Multiple Listing Service
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) (also Multiple
Listing System or Multiple Listings Service) is a database that
allows a broker representing a seller to share information about
the property for sale widely with brokers representing potential
buyers.
The purpose of the MLS to is enable a more
efficient marketplace to occur between brokers by distributing information.
When a real estate agent is introduced to a potential home buyer,
the agent can search the MLS system to retrieve information about
homes for sale in that area. The MLS permits that agent to view
information about homes represented by OTHER brokers, just as a
securities broker can see the price of stock put up for sale by
other brokers through the securities exchanges. The MLS is an exchange
for real estate, just as the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ
are exchanges for securities, but the MLS is not an open exchange
or a public exchange. Unlike securities exchanges, which have government
oversight (the Securities and Exchange Commission), the MLSs are
governed by private entities and the rules are set by those private
entities with no state or federal oversight.
The MLS typically combines the listings for
all available properties that are represented by a broker that is
a member of the MLS. Membership to the MLS is generally considered
to be essential to the practice of real estate brokerage -- a broker
that is not a member cannot put information into the MLS or access
information submitted by other brokers.
Most MLSs restrict membership and access to
real estate agents who are 1) licensed by the state (or province),
and 2) members of the trade association (e.g., the National Association
of Realtors or Canadian Real Estate Association). Generally, a person
selling his or her own home (i.e., for sale by owner) cannot put
a listing for their home directly into the MLS. Similarly, a properly
licensed broker that chooses to neither join the trade association
nor operate a business within the associations's rules, cannot join
the MLS.
In general, MLSs are private entities that
set their own rules for membership, access, and sharing of information.
An MLS may be owned and operated by a real estate company, a real
estate board, or a trade association.
In general, the public cannot gain access to
the MLS. Individual brokers who are members of the MLS may provide
information to potential buyers in different ways -- providing specific
listings on paper in an office is customary. An agent may also email
or fax listings. However, real estate brokers sometimes use their
websites to permit potential buyers to see MLS data, and is the
subject of significant controversy.
United States
The National Association of Realtors (NAR)
has set policies that permit brokers to show only limited MLS information
on their websites. NAR has an ownership interest in a company (Homestore)
that operates a website that has exclusive rights to display significant
MLS information. That site is www.Realtor.com.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust
lawsuit in September 2005 against the National Association of Realtors
over the NAR's policy that restricts brokers from establishing websites
that show home sellers information that is in the MLS. The DOJ's
antitrust claims also include NAR rules that exclude certain kinds
of brokers from membership in MLSs.
Currently, in the United States there is no
one central MLS. MLS's have city-wide or regional coverage. In 2005,
there were approximately 800 MLSs in the United States , each dedicated
to a city or region.
The Largest MLS in the United States is currently
The Multiple Listing Service of Northern Illinois (MLSNI) with over
45,000 active members.
|
