MLS listings for South Lake Travis and Austin Metro housing and real estate
The San Antonio Board of REALTORS (SABOR) currently serves the South Lake Travis and the Austin area. Made up of 22 members, SABOR is one of the largest boards in the state of Texas with nearly 8,000 members. The SABOR MLS coves more than 12 counties throughout the Austin Metro Area, with more than 10,000 active listings at any given time. Full access to the SABOR MLS is restricted to members only, but the official SABOR website does offer limited access to the public.
So what is the Austin MLS and how does it work?
In simple terms, the Austin Multiple Listing Service or SABOR MLS is a database of homes for sale in the South Lake Travis 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. While Austin only has one, the state of Texas has many MLS 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 Austin, you can safely limit your search to the San Antonio Board of REALTORS when buying or selling a home without missing out on many area listings.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one Austin broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another Austin 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 Austin 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 Austin 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 Austin MLS system is an excellent tool for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The Austin MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in Austin neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. Austin 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 Austin MLS (www.sabor.com) has over 8,000 SABOR members, not all brokers participate. This means that while the Austin MLS service does list a significant number of properties for sale, it does not list all properties for sale in South Lake Travis and the Austin.