MLS listings for Fairmont West, CA and San Francisco housing and real estate
The City of San Francisco has a number of MLS systems that currently serve dozens of different areas throughout the region. San Francisco County is serviced by the San Francisco Association of Realtors MLS or SFAR MLS. The SFAR MLS currently has 5,000 members and a web-based multiple listing service for those members. The SFAR MLS is the main MLS for properties for sale in San Francisco and the Northern Peninsula. The SFAR MLS offers access to thousands of San Francisco listings for its broker-members and other real estate members, but the web-based system also offers very limited access to the public.
About San Francisco County MLS
In simple terms, the San Francisco County Multiple Listing Service or SFAR MLS is a database of homes for sale in the San Francisco 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. San Francisco County, for example, has dozens. 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 San Francisco County, it's important to utilize both the San Francisco Association of Realtors Multiple Listing Service and any other major association that services your neighborhood when buying or selling a home.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one San Francisco County broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another San Francisco County 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 San Francisco County 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 San Francisco County 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 San Francisco County MLS systems are excellent tools for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The San Francisco County MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in San Francisco County neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. San Francisco County 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 the SFAR MLS membership has over 5,000, not all brokers participate. This means that while the San Francisco County MLS services (www.sfrealtors.com) do list a significant number of properties for sale, they do not list all properties for sale in San Francisco and the San Francisco area.