The MLS Helps Agents Lead With Their Service, Not Their Wallet

Written By John Hughes, VP of Industry Relations

With the extensive costs tied to running your own business, sometimes it can feel like your wallet gets better exposure than you. It’s certainly not the one you want to have the best tan in the boat. Consider the extensive list of expenses below that constantly keep a real estate agent’s wallet out.

THE MUST HAVE

The MLS is the undisputed leader when it comes to value within the careers of real estate agents (remember our first blog?). If you had to pick just one expense outside of licensing and make it work, it would have to be the MLS. After all, the core of being a trusted advisor is having the most reliable knowledge. However, the MLS has evolved to so much more, including critical transactional tools such as floorplan creation and ADU modeling.

FOR THE LOWEST COST

Despite being the most critical component of an agent’s daily business, somehow the MLS has both synchronized and vastly reduced the overall cost of these great tools. Individual tool and service subscriptions would probably be close to $500 per month. “Value pricing” like a car dealership (what it’s worth to you) would be far more. If you are not an agent or have easy access to the list of your MLS tools, consider the “Top Tools” of our MetroList MLS and pull out your calculator. Yet, most monthly platform fees, inclusive of lockbox services, come in around the price of a single client meal (or less!).

PROVIDING VALUE FOR YOUR DATA

Many brokers and agents recognize the inherent value of their listing information. It is utilized by civic planners, insurance companies, and lending institutions, among others. However, unless it is geographically comprehensive (i.e., not limited to just one broker) and highly reliable, its overall impact is greatly diminished. By consolidating this information into a meaningful product, the MLS enhances the data’s value and reinvests in additional products and services to benefit their brokers and agents, generating a return that no individual could achieve alone.

WITH THE GREATEST TIME SAVINGS

Finally, I already alluded to the MLS as “synchronized” – and this is where time means money. Not only do MLS subscribers have access to all of these tools and services, they are often linked under a single sign on. Working within one platform doesn’t just save back office time, it allows agents to field questions in real time – with less stammering and fewer call-backs. 

FROM A COMMUNITY MINDSET

The bottom line is that the MLS could easily cost many times more under most traditional business models. For the unparalleled value, you can thank the fact that typical MLS Boards are comprised of participating Brokers and their Agents, personally invested in their professional and client communities (a white paper on how MetroList is structured to the benefit of its brokers and agents can be found here). Consequently, the suite of tools and services in the MLS are often picked by actual users for both usefulness and affordability while being delivered at better-than-wholesale prices. Ultimately, the MLS is the gem that gives the agent the best exposure, and not their wallet.