Bodega and San Francisco North Bay MLS
Bodega and the North Bay ares serviced by the Bay Area Real Estate Information Service (BAREIS MLS). The BAREIS MLS has more than 10,000 members located through San Francisco and the North Bay. The system offers listings in five counties including Sonoma, Solano, Napa, Marin, and Mendocino counties to broker-members only.
Located in Santa Rosa, CA, BAREIS MLS was founded by several Associations of REALTORS including: the Marin Association of REALTORS, the Napa Association of REALTORS, the Northern Solano Association of REALTORS, the Solano Association of REALTORS, and the Sonoma County Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
So what is the North Bay MLS and how does it work?
In simple terms, the North Bay Multiple Listing Service or BAREIS MLS is a database of homes for sale in the Bodega 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. The North Bay has one major association, but others list properties in the area as well. 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 the North Bay, it's important to utilize the Bay Area Real Estate Information Service MLS when buying or selling a home, along with any other Multiple Listing Services that include homes in your neighborhood.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one North Bay broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another North Bay 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 North Bay 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 North Bay MLS systems help 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 individual North Bay MLS systems are excellent tools for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The North Bay MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in North Bay neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. North Bay 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 BAREIS MLS membership is over 10,000, not all brokers participate. This means that while North Bay MLS services (www.bareis.com) do list a significant number of properties for sale, they do not list all properties for sale in Bodega and the North Bay.