While browsing for a home can be overwhelming, Homes.com makes it easier for you by helping you narrow down what house is perfect for you based on your needs and wants. But have you ever wondered where Homes.com gets all its information? Or how when you type in a specific location, thousands of homes are available at your fingertips? Well, this is because the majority of listings on Homes.com come from a network of multiple listing service (MLS) providers who have the information about these homes.
The History of MLS
To gain a better understanding of what an MLS is, it’s important to learn about its history first. Before the internet, real estate brokers would have to meet at their offices to share information about properties they were trying to sell. In every transaction when buying a home, there’s a broker helping their client buy a home and a broker who helps their client sell a home. So for brokers trying to find a house, they would have to go to different real estate offices and meet with different brokers to see what kind of homes were on the market and determine if they met the needs and wants of their clients. Brokers would share information and agree to pay other brokers who helped them sell properties, eventually leading to the MLS’s creation.
MLS, Today
Today, every broker who joins the MLS agrees to help other brokers sell their listings, and they do the same. Therefore, the MLS system is special because everyone has to cooperate to complete the transaction. According to the Real Estate Standards Organization, “as of 2020, there are 597 MLSs in the United States,” but the number has likely shrunk since then “due to regional consolidation of MLSs.” Many Brokerages that are a part of many marketplaces join multiple MLSs. But only Brokers can be a part of the MLS, while Agents cannot unless their broker does so first.
How Can I Put My Home on an MLS?
Unless you are a broker, you cannot list your home on an MLS. But when looking for a broker or brokerage, they should be a part of the MLS so you can ensure that your home is exposed to as many buyers as possible. Once your home is on an MLS, you can rest assured that almost any and every broker in that marketplace will now be able to see your home to get it sold as quickly as possible.
How Do Homes.com and MLSs Work Together?
Even though Homes.com and an MLS sound very similar, they are different. Homes.com is not an MLS, but we get a lot of our listing data from MLSs. One of our goals at Homes.com is to reach independent brokers and agents and provide consumers with an easy and stress-free way to buy the home of their dreams. Having listings from MLSs and placing them on Homes.com allows consumers to go to one place to find their home instead of having to go to several different MLSs, resulting in chaos and disorganization.
By having MLSs, brokerages ensure that a home’s buying and selling process is less stressful and time-consuming for them and their clients, making MLSs one of the greatest resources in the real estate industry and one of Homes.com’s greatest assets.