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Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
(also Multiple Listing System or Multiple Listings Service) is a group
of private databases which allows real estate brokers representing
sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about
properties with real estate brokers who may represent potential buyers
or wish to cooperate with a seller's broker in finding a buyer for the
property.
There is no single authoritative "MLSCANADA",
and no universal data format. The many local and private databases--some
of which are controlled by single associations of realtors or groupings
of associations (which represent all brokers within a given community or
geographical area) or by real estate brokers--are collectively referred
to as the MLS because of their reciprocal access agreements.
MLSCANADA
In Canada, MLS is a cooperative
system for the 82,000+ members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA),
working through Canada's 99 real estate boards and 11
provincial/territorial associations. The website is a publicly
accessible and allows consumers to search the MLS database of
properties, providing limited details and directing consumers to contact
a Realtor for more information.
What Is MLS?
MLS combines the listings of all available properties that are
represented by brokers who are both members of that MLS system and of
NAR or CREA, (the National Association of Realtors in the US or the
Canadian Real Estate Association).
The purpose of the MLS is to enable the efficient distribution of
information so that, when a real estate agent is introduced to a
potential home buyer, s/he may search the MLS system and retrieve
information about all homes for sale in a given area or price range,
whether under a listing contract by that agent's brokerage or by all
participating brokers.
In North America, the MLS systems
are governed by private entities, and the rules are set by those
entities with no state or federal oversight, beyond any individual state
rules regarding real estate. MLS systems set their own rules for
membership, access, and sharing of information, but are subject to
nationwide rules laid down by NAR or CREA. An MLS may be owned and
operated by a real estate company, a county or regional real estate
Board of Realtors or Association of Realtors, or by a trade association.
Membership of the MLS is generally considered to be essential to the
practice of real estate brokerage.
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