"Door County Real Estate" by: Kevin Nordahl, REALTOR®

Multiple Listing Service - Another Way to Search

You have combed every newspaper ad, leafed through every real estate brochure, called a dozen agents and surfed over countless websites in pursuit of the perfect property. Finally you find “IT,” the one property that has it all. One call to the listing agent and you’re off to a showing and drafting your offer. Oh if it were just that simple?

What usually happens next leads to the discovery that the property is far from adequate. It may have one bathroom too few, or not enough living space, or even be adjacent to an old landfill. With a few simple clicks through the proprietary computer database known as a Multiple Listing Service (or MLS) any competent REALTOR® may have narrowed your search down to a few choice properties and saved you a wealth of time.

A Multiple Listing Service is run by a local area REALTOR® association. These associations are comprised of REALTOR® members who are trained professionals and pay a fee for MLS services. When a REALTOR® member lists a client’s property for sale they are allowed to post detailed information on the property to the MLS database. Sharing of this information is agreed to through the local REALTOR® association. Every cooperating agency posts its own compensation package to cooperating brokerages thereby assuring each agent will get paid for his/her services.

When a customer calls a real estate brokerage in search of property any MLS trained REALTOR® need only enter a few search parameters into the database and schedule showings with cooperating agencies. So how do I get access to the MLS as a consumer?

Only REALTOR®S have access to their local MLS, except for Internet websites run by cooperating brokerages. Such websites list partial results for consumer searching. These websites rely on participating local associations to maintain a current property inventory through its membership.

The Door County Board of REALTOR®S is currently run from an office in Sturgeon Bay and offers MLS data worldwide via the Internet. Nearly every participating brokerage offers access to MLS listed properties online. The number of current MLS participating agents in the Door and Kewaunee area is approaching 250 agents. So how much is your time worth? The Internet is definitely changing the real estate landscape. In a short time getting information that was once classified to a certain few will be a few clicks away. For the time being, calling an agent is still a good bet.

Kevin Nordahl is a life-long resident of Door County, a REALTORŪ and a member of the Door County MLS. He is a Past President of the Door County Board of REALTORS® and a Senior Sales Consultant at Coldwell Banker Door County Horizons in Fish Creek. He may be reached online at knordahl@doorcountyrealestate.com or by phone at (920) 493-4004.

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