A key concern of many home owners looking to sell a home is the exposure that their home will receive. The main thing is to ensure that the maximum number of people see the property so as to get the best possible deal for the home for sale. More importantly however is to ensure that the maximum number of people who see the property are actually qualified and motivated home buyers.
The best way to do this is to list a home for sale on MLS, which is the Multiple Listing Service.
MLS is a co-operative marketing system that maximizes exposure of properties for sale. Most homes that are sold within the Greater Toronto Area, and most of Canada for that matter, are sold via MLS systems, which are operated by various real estate boards across the country.
MLS consists of a sophisticated computer database of properties that are indexed by a number of factors, including price, location, type of home, number of bedrooms, etc. Fundamentally speaking, MLS contains a registry of properties that are used by realtors to match buyers with homes for sale.
The greatest benefit of MLS to homeowners and homebuyers is that it allows realtors to use their skills to the fullest. A realtor’s job is to simply determine potential buyers ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ in a potential home, and then connect that home buyer with the ‘right’ potential home. Basically, the realtor is there to find properties that meet the home buyer’s needs. With the use of MLS, the realtor can quickly search the database for homes with specific ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ that the home buyer is looking for, and put together a short list of suitable homes. This means that the realtor doesn’t have to waste the time of the homebuyer by looking at homes that don’t meet their standards, but rather only show homes to the home buyer that meet the home buyer’s specifications for a potential future home.
When it comes to the home seller, MLS is equally as important, if not more. The main obstacle a home seller encounters is finding a qualified, motivated home buyer. MLS overcomes this obstacle by matching the home for sale with the requirements laid out by a potential home buyer. MLS cuts through the various complexities associated with selling a home by linking the ‘right’ homes with the ‘right’ people. It exposes the home for sale to those most likely to purchase it, thus ensuring that no time is wasted on the home buyer’s end, nor the home seller’s end, and fully utilizing the capabilities of the realtor who is there throughout the entire process.
Search Realty highly recommends that when the decision comes to sell a home, the home seller lists the home on MLS, as MLS will ensure wide exposure of the home for sale to not only the maximum number of people possible, but more importantly, to a broad range of both interested and qualified home buyers.
