MLS listings for Miami Lakes, FL and Miami area housing and real estate
Miami is one of the most popular places to live in the state of Florida, so it should come as no surprise that several Multiple Listing Services are available in the area. Hialeah and Miami are currently served by the Southeast Florida Regional MLS and the Miami MLS.
Located in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, the Southeast Florida Regional MLS has more than 15,000 subscribers in more than 2,500 offices throughout Miami. SFR MLS members offer thousands of listings throughout the Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
The Miami MLS is only available to broker-members, so potential home sellers and buyers should ask their agent if the firm subscribes to one or both services.
About Miami MLS
In simple terms, the Miami Multiple Listing Service and Southeast Florida Regional MLS are databases of homes for sale in the 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. Miami, for example, has two major associations. 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 Miami, it's important to utilize both the Southeast Florida Regional MLS and the Miami Multiple Listing Service when buying or selling a home.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one Miami broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another Miami 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 Miami 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 Miami 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 Miami MLS systems are excellent tools for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The Miami MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in Miami neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. Miami 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 Miami MLS membership is over 15,000 for the Southeast Florida Regional MLS and thousands more for the Miami MLS, not all brokers participate. This means that while the Miami MLS services (www.rmlsfl.com) do list a significant number of properties for sale, they do not list all properties for sale in and the Miami area.