The MLS Done Right

List the property when it has the best chance of selling.

The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is an extensive database of every listed property in the Capital Region and the heart of Real Estate New York's marketing program. It includes every real estate company and agent in the area.

When a property is listed in the MLS it is offered as a co-broke to all other agents who then split the commission. Statistically, one of these agents is working with your buyer right now. That's why it's essential to get the listing out while it is still fresh when it has the best chance of selling for the best price.

However, many agents delay releasing the listing or refuse to allow other agents to show for the first critical days or weeks. Why? Because it gives them a chance to sell it themselves thereby keeping the entire commission.

While this may be a great improvement to the agent's bottom line it severely restricts the sales effort and often results in a reduced bottom line for you the seller.

Listing the property and gambling that it will sell is not enough. 

At Real Estate New York we immediately send the listing out for co-broke with pictures and links to the property's exclusive website. In addition, we email, fax, text, and phone other agents to be sure they are kept constantly aware of the listing.

 

This is important because the MLS is a computer system and as such is terminally literal. If an agent formats a search for a buyer the MLS will deliver exactly the listings that match and not one more. For instance, if a buyer is looking for a home listed at no more than $250,000 the MLS computer will not match a listing at $250,001. This is true of all other aspects of the listing.

This was not always so. Before computers the MLS resided in books divided into area and price. An agent would show a buyer a section of the book and every home in the area and general price range would be represented--not just the ones that matched the buyer's criteria exactly.

Surprisingly, the buyer often bought a home with only the vaguest resemblance to their specifications because they were made aware of it by the MLS book. This coined the phrase "buyers are liars" Not that they actually lie but that they often deviated from their stated needs.
Unfortunately, the MLS on computer fails to account for this factor and can often miss providing a listing that the buyer would choose given the opportunity.  That's why it's essential to promote and keep promoting the listing directly to the members of the MLS and not just hope they come across the listing on the MLS.