MLS listings for Willis, TX and Greater Houston housing and real estate
The Houston Association of REALTORS (HAR) offers the primary Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Willis and the the City of Houston . With more than 60,000 REALTOR listed properties, HAR is one of the largest MLS services in the State of Texas. While the official HAR site features a home search for the public and it has more than 100,000 active members, full access to the HAR MLS is available only to subscribing REALTOR members.
So what is the Houston MLS and how does it work?
In simple terms, the Houston Multiple Listing Service or HAR MLS is a database of homes for sale in the Willis 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. Houston only has one major association, for example, but the entire state of Texas has many. 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 Houston, it's important to utilize the Houston Association of REALTORS when buying or selling a home.
The MLS also serves as a compensation offer between brokers. If one Houston broker represents a buyer who purchases a property that is listed by another Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston 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 Houston MLS system is an excellent tool for participating members, buyers, and sellers. The Houston MLS offers maximum exposure to houses for sale in Houston neighborhoods and it allows agents and brokers to quickly and easily find properties that are listed. Houston 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 Houston Association of REALTORS has more than 100,000 members (including the public), not all brokers participate. This means that while the Houston MLS service (www.har.com) does list a significant number of properties for sale, it does not list all properties for sale in Willis and the Houston area.