Undertaking a large real estate transaction in an urban area can often be a stressful affair. The truth is most urban areas have competitive real estate markets due to their large economies. Most people want to live in cities, so if you have great real estate in a city, or if you're looking for some, you want to make sure you get the best price available. That's where the multiple listing service can come in handy.
The multiple listing service (or MLS for short) is a listing service available to real estate agents and their clientele. It's a great tool that allows you to list your property on a private channel available to agents and their clients only, before you list it anywhere else. This means only the right people are looking at your listing and genuinely interested buyers, and is a more targeted form of marketing than publishing your home for sale ad in multiple print media sources and online newsletters.
The multiple listing service gives an advantage to the person using it, in that it allows you to take a look at properties that don't have too much attention on them yet. As a seller it gives your listing maximum exposure to the most interested parties, which is real estate agents and their clients. And as a buyer, it lets you look at a list of homes that could be right for you.
If you want to take advantage of this service you're going to have to go through a real estate agent. Finding a real estate agent can be difficult, as they're not all created equally and some are simply better at their jobs than others. One good place to start is by asking friends and family if they have recently worked with a real estate agent that they would be willing to recommend.
You can also interview multiple candidates to ensure that you are getting the best professional for you. A great real estate agent will take the time to understand what you're looking for and understand your needs. After that, they'll be able to show you to the perfect listing by using the multiple listing service and making buying and selling real estate that much easier to do, even in large cities.
