Home buyers and sellers think of the multiple Listing Service (MLS) as the way to buy a home, but most don’t really know how it works. That is understandable if you only buy a home once every 10 years. The MLS is the backbone of the marketplace. Organizing the market started in the 1800’s, and the National Association of Realtors was founded in 1908. At that time Real Estate Agencies only sold their own listings and information about other homes for sale was not shared between Agencies.
Thanks to Silvio di Loreto, Santa Barbara became the first community that shifted from that model, with the printing of an MLS book in 1959, showing all the listings from all the Agencies. The modern marketplace was born. A single Realtor could now show all the properties, no matter who listed it. This transformed the selling process, with a big win for Buyers and Sellers.
Having access to all the homes in the marketplace can beg the question, “Who is representing whom?” Although the same Realtor can legally represent both the Buyer and the Seller, Buyers should think twice before allowing this. The reality is that the Seller’s Realtor tends to favor the Seller. Separate Buyer’s and Seller’s agents are recommended.
Sellers pay the commissions that make the home selling process work, but the whole commission does not go to their Realtor. It is split 4 ways between the Seller’s Agency and the Realtor representing the Seller and the Buyer’s Agency and the Realtor representing the Buyer.
30 years ago, the competitive image of Realtors put them on a par with Car Salesmen and Personal Injury Attorneys, at the bottom of the list of trusted professions. Since then, Realtors have learned how to cooperate with each other while still competing for listings and sales. They discretely and accurately share information about the property and people they represent. The best Realtors have developed communication skills that place them on a par with the finest counselors and coaches.
Montecito Market Report
You may have heard of Pocket Listings. Usually, a broker approaches you to make a sale without the property going into the MLS. Being an off – market non – MLS listing means giving up the possibility of multiple offers on your home. You need to balance the convenience of a private sale against a potentially higher price from having your home in MLS and accessible to all the Realtors.
The most sought out information comes from newly pended homes that have just entered escrow. You may want to know the inside story, but it is potentially dangerous to the interests of the seller for this information to become public. It would be upsetting to most home sellers and disastrous for the 25 percent of homes that fall out of escrow. A knowledgeable and discreet Realtor is required during this critical stage of the sale.
Berkshire Hathaway, as the biggest local company, has the most homes in escrow so our agents have better access to important escrow information. I may not know the exact story until it closes but gathering guidance helps me do a better job for my clients.
It is good to know how the system works. You want a Realtor who:
1. Is connected to pending sale information,
2. Has seen the homes as they were listed for sale, and
3. Knows the story inside each sale.
This 1, 2, 3 is my expertise. When you want an agent who has mastered these, let’s talk.
Client Talk…
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes from the Internet Data Exchange Program of the Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than the displaying broker(s) are marked with the ‘MLS’ logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokers. All properties are subject to prior sale, change or withdrawal. Neither listing broker(s) nor displaying broker shall be responsible for any typographical errors, misinformation, or misprints. 2021 Santa Barbara Multiple Listing Service. All rights reserved.
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