What is the MLS?

Most real estate companies in the Twin Cities are members of one of four Boards of Realtors.  Together, these Boards of Realtors participate in and support the Regional Multiple Listing Service (RMLS).  The RMLS is a way that competing real estate companies can share their inventories, and it is a forum by which competing real estate companies can conduct business with each other.  Only real estate companies and Realtors who are members of one of the Boards of Realtors can access the RMLS and there are very strict rules governing the use of the RMLS.  The RMLS data base is often called just the “MLS.”

If a homeowner wants their home listed for sale on the RMLS, they must contract for that service through a member real estate company.  That’s how real estate companies come to have “listings”.

There are two “layers” to the RMLS.  A Member-layer and a Public-layer.  Member Realtors can search the RMLS database using a broader array of search criteria than what’s available to the public.  And the information retrieved by member Realtors is more detailed and more in depth than the information available to the public.

Real estate companies have web sites that allow home buyers to search for homes that are listed on the MLS.  They offer this "home search" service in an effort to capture the attention of potential customers.  If a home buyer wants to search for homes that are listed on the RMLS, they can go to the web site of a member real estate company and search for homes using the search functions of that web site.  This is called Broker Reciprocity.

It's a great system.  It benefits sellers, buyers, listing brokers, and Buyer's Brokers.  It allows listing brokers to put their inventory out there for any and all buyers to have access to.  As a buyer, you don't have to contact each and every broker.  Instead, you can work with your Buyer's Broker and still have access to the entire database of homes for sale on the MLS.

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