Not all Multiple Listing Services (MLSs) are created equal and in a time of extreme competition for buyer dollars, getting your property in the right MLS, or in multiple MLSs, may make the difference between selling a home… or not. And buyers looking for bargains would do well to ensure that they (and their agents) have access to the data in all the relevant MLSs in order to find the best deal available in any given market.
In 2009, 93% of all sellers saw their homes listed in the MLS by their real estate agent. In that same year, 60% of all buyers looked directly to MLS websites for homes shopping need. The number of homes sold through the offices of a cooperating broker thanks to MLS exposure is equally high as anecdotal information from large brokerage firms indicate that roughly 70 to 80% of all listings sold are sold not by the listing agent, but by an agent belonging to the same MLS.
This being the case, it follows that each professional real estate community –usually grouped under one or more local association– would want their MLS to have as many subscribers as possible; and that sellers would insist on knowing which MLSs their property will be listed in and how many real estate professionals will become aware of it as a result. The former is often not true. MLSs are not new and Realtors® associations have been investing in them for a very long time. Making the shift from an existing single association system to a new, shared one can be financially and technologically daunting for associations. And buyers and sellers, operating under the myth of a “one and only” MLS, are often not aware that there may be multiple MLSs in their area and what difference the right MLS, or optimally multiple MLS listings, can make to their search for a property, or for securing a ready, willing and able buyer.
South Florida is an example in MLS diversity. On the southeast coast, Realtor® associations do a good job of combining their data in at least two significant MLSs: the Southeast Florida MLS (SEFL®), with approximately 34,000 subscribers, is shared by 5 Realtor® associations, and encompasses most properties in Dade and Broward counties. As with all MLSs, it may include properties outside of its perceived geographical boundaries by virtue of those properties being listed with a broker belonging to one of the 5 shareholder associations. The other significant Southeast Florida MLS is Regional MLS (RMLS®), with approximately 11,283 subscribers. According to its website, Regional MLS (RMLS®), is shared by 3 Realtors® associations and, while it, too, may include properties outside of its shareholder associations declared geography, it covers mainly the area starting North of Broward all the way to Indian River, with the bulk of its subscribers covering Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.
Southwest Florida is more fragmented. Collier and Lee Counties, or the area ranging between Marco Island and North Fort Myers, including Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Captiva, Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples is home to no less than six Realtor® associations and four distinct MLSs. At the time of writing, Sunshine MLS®, which is shared between the Bonita/Estero and Naples associations of Realtor®, had approximately 5200 subscribers. The Realtor® Association of Greater Fort Myers and the Beach and Cape Coral Association of Realtors® also share an MLS, Florida Gulf Coast®, with approximately 6000 subscribers. But the other MLSs in the area have substantially fewer subscribers.
With such data fragmentation, the question of MLS inclusion becomes especially critical for property marketing, and sellers should ask their agent which MLSs he/she belongs to, and how many subscribers those MLSs total. For example, Marco Island sellers would more than likely benefit from their property being listed in Sunshine MLS® as well as in Marco Island’s Innovia-based system, and all sellers in North Naples, Bonita Springs and Estero ought to see their property listed in both, Sunshine® and Florida Gulf Coast®. This would not only nearly double their property’s exposure to the local real estate community but also, and more pointedly, bring geographically desirable buyers to the table: most buyers looking in the area are equally likely to buy in North Naples as in Bonita – given the right property at the right price. Conversely, it would be a marketing faux-pas to list a property located in Bonita Springs only in Florida Gulf Coast MLS: most agents in Naples/ Bonita belong to Sunshine MLS and may never become aware that a Florida Gulf Coast listed property is on the market.
Not all Multiple Listing Services are created equal. To find the best deal, buyers using an agent’ services, including his or her website, to search for properties need to make sure that they are accessing most if not most of the properties listed in the area. In Southwest Florida, this will only be true if the brokerage firm belongs to multiple MLSs and streams the data from all the services on their search pages. And sellers in any of the South Florida markets would do well to ask their agents what MLSs their brokerage firm belongs to. On the southwest coast, listing in both Sunshine® MLS and Florida Gulf Coast® MLS will ensure that their property benefits from the maximum exposure available in their location.
To search SE Florida MLS or Sunshine and Gulf Cost MLS, visit our website at www.lionrealtyflorida.com
