What Would It Be Like?
By Jim Palmer Jr.

What would it be like if the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) data base did not exist? Would a void of that service benefit the consumer or is the current MLS system really the most efficient, fair and beneficial way to foster competition and serve consumers? Do Realtors® have such a strangle hold on inventories that sellers and buyers are at their mercy for information? Does the MLS platform restrict the way commissions can be negotiated or make prices inflexible?

The answer to the first question might be “chaos”! The overwhelming majority of property listings on the market start with the sharing of information to outside sources, directly from the MLS database. It would cost sellers significant time, energy and money to duplicate and coordinate the type of marketing schemes that real estate brokers can facilitate quickly because of their practice of syndicating to sources such as Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. In addition, buyers would be forced to search many different outlets to find the same information instead of relying upon the massive coordinated efforts of the MLS.

The answers to the next questions are No, and No! The advent of the internet and the subsequent explosion of data from a variety of sources actually enhanced the effectiveness of the cooperative efforts of real estate brokers instead of taking value away from brokers. That innovation actually turned a big powerful, cumbersome machine, into something much more responsive and nimble.

Some progressive-thinking-consumers think the MLS system is antiquated, and that it no longer serves consumers fairly, when the truth is the opposite! In the hundred-year-existence of MLS it has evolved from a crude delivery system, to an amazing example of cooperation and product delivery that puts consumer’s wants and needs at the forefront. There is no other trade organization in the world that can rival its efficiency and advocacy for consumers!

Despite claims to the contrary, sellers and buyers are able to routinely negotiate to their benefit. The MLS system is a very competitive environment in every way! Each individual broker is always trying to compete for seller listings or for buyers by offering lower commissions or better services! Ironically, the MLS facilitates that competitive environment because of its amazing cooperative spirit. Rather than inhibiting consumer opportunities it encourages the competition that benefits consumers.

There are some brokers who do not subscribe to any MLS, but those brokers consistently struggle to find inventory and accurate data, instead of taking advantage of the one-stop-shopping that the MLS offers.