MLS listings for Bellmawr, NJ and Philadelphia area housing and real estate
Bellmawr and the Philadelphia Metro Area are served by TREND, which has more than 32,000 members in 25 different states. Members can expect to have access to more than 69,000 active listings at any given time with more than 1.2 million comparable listings. TREND covers 13 counties including: Kent and New Castle counties in Delaware; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer and Salem counties in New Jersey; and Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania. TREND will cover Ocean County in the coming year.
About Philadelphia MLS
In simple terms, the Philadelphia Multiple Listing Service or TREND is a database of homes for sale in the Bellmawr area. While the MLS® trademark is owned by the Canada Real Estate Association (CREA) -- as is the REALTOR® trademark -- MLS systems across the country are typically set up as separate corporations. The MLS in any given area is affiliated with its local association of realtors. Now, here's where it gets tricky. Any city or region may have several associations. Philadelphia, however, has only one major association. Some of these associations will integrate their MLS systems, while other will remain separate, which means neighboring areas may be listed on different systems that will not necessarily overlap. In Philadelphia, it's important to utilize TREND MLS when buying or selling a home.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one Philadelphia broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another Philadelphia MLS broker, they will typically share the commission, and this information is listed in the MLS.
The overabundance of MLS systems available can also create confusion and frustration for many Philadelphia agents and brokers. Real estate agents who are not members of a certain MLS service have difficulty gaining access to properties that are exclusively listed with that service. The Philadelphia MLS system helps to protect the listings for a given neighborhood or larger community by controlling who has access to them. This ensures that local agents have an advantage over real estate agents from other areas. While this can be beneficial for the local agents, some also consider it to be a tactic by the MLS systems to earn more fees and recruit more members.
The cons to operating individual MLS systems (as opposed to one large MLS) mainly affect non-members. The Philadelphia MLS system is an excellent tool for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The Philadelphia MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in Philadelphia neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. Philadelphia real estate agents and brokers can also examine commission rates and browse through an extensive amount of data about any given property for sale.
It is important to keep in mind that while Philadelphia MLS has more than 32,000, not all brokers participate. This means that while the Philadelphia MLS service (www.trendmls.com) does list a significant number of properties for sale, it does not list all properties for sale in Bellmawr and the Philadelphia area.