Searching Charleston MLS. How It Works.
You may have heard your Charleston area Realtor use MLS in some of their real estate jargon. What exactly is an MLS and how does the Charleston MLS work.
MLS is an acronym for Multiple Listing Service or system. Wikipedia describes it as a suite of services that (1) enables brokers to establish contractual offers of compensation (among brokers); (2) facilitates cooperation with other broker participants; (3) accumulates and disseminates information to enable appraisals; (4) is a facility for the orderly correlation and dissemination of listing information to better serve broker's clients, customers and the public.
The local Charleston MLS is a central database that participating Charleston real estate brokers and agents use to share information about properties. Realtors primarily use it in their day to day operation to find properties for buyers. They also use the MLS to help Charleston sellers arrive at a value for their properties based on sold and unsold like kind properties.
The MLS system is also the most important marketing tool that a Realtor or Broker can have. Participating members of the multiple listing system list their inventory of properties for sale in the database as a way to market them to other members who may have a potential buyer. Realtors working with buyers can sell properties listed by other Realtors in return for compensation. The majority of closed transactions do involve two Realtors.
There is a misconception by some of the general public that they need to hire multiple Charleston Realtors to view all of the properties for sale in Charleston. You really just need to hire one good agent to represent you in a purchase.
From a seller's perspective it is wise to choose a Charlesotn Realtor who can list your home in the MLS database. This is a Realtor's most powerful marketing tool. When your agent enters a property in the MLS database it becomes available to all Charleeston Realtors and their potential buyers. When you list your home with a Realtor who is a member of the Charleston MLS your property will not only be available to ALL Charleston area Realtors but your properties will also be accessable from hundreds of Realtors web sites
Other important facts about the MLS:
Local Realtor Associations oversee the MLS system. There is no national single MLS. IDX is known as Internet Data Exchange. This allows a portion of MLS data to be displayed on Realtor websites. When you see "Search MLS" on a Realtors website most of the time you are not accessing the real MLS system. Realtors pay money to join a local Realtor association to access the MLS system Not all Realtors are members of their local MLS
For information about advertising on www.MLSofCharleston.com e-mail Publisher@CarolinaHomesAndInteriors.com or call 843-881-1481 ext. 15
