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.
