Multiple Listing Service

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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 potential home buyer, the agent can peer into 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.

The general public only cannot gain access to information about sellers' homes in 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. The ability of a real estate broker to use his or her website to permit a potential buyer to see home sellers' information in the MLS is the subject of significant controversy.

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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 America, 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.

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Canada

In Canada, MLS is a cooperative system accessible only to the 82,000+ members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), working through Canada's 99 real estate boards and 11 provincial/territorial associations. An abbreviated version of most listings are made available on the consumer website MLS.ca.

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References

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