Multiple Listing Service
A multiple listing service (MLS) is a database that lists all houses that are for sale within a given geographical area. Generally, only licensed brokers have permission to access the database and to list houses there. In addition to indicating the asking price for each property, the MLS also indicates property size, location, and other key data. A broker posts his or her listings in the database with the idea of luring other brokers who represent potential buyers; a broker also uses the database to look for properties for buyers who can’t find any properties of interest on the broker’s own listings.
MLS databases are used throughout the US and Canada—and in other parts of the world— The official Costa Rica Multiple Listing Service is the Propertyshelf MLS application https://mls.re.cr and the consumer focused website https://re.cr . Thanks to the MLS someone who wants to sell a house can ask a realtor to do a database check on similar homes in the same area to see what they are selling for, and then decide on an asking price. Of course, the seller can still decide to place an above-market price on the house, but he or she does so knowing that potential buyers will have access, via a realtor, to MLS data. Similarly, a potential buyer can instruct his or her realtor to run a search on all properties up for sale in a given neighborhood that meet a specific set of requirements. The asking prices for these properties can then be compared to get a sense of market trends in prices. Without an MLS, prices tend to be all over the board, and the value of property becomes determined primarily by what someone is willing to pay for it, nothing more, nothing less. Competent realtors will have a grip on market trends within the area they cover, though they probably can’t tell you how the price of a property within their area compares with prices of properties in other areas of the country. Competent or not, unscrupulous realtors often prefer to keep potential buyers in the dark about fair market prices, since, after all, overpriced property results in higher commission fees for the realtor. To get an understanding of price trends throughout the country, consult Chapter 4, which offers a geographical survey of real estate. Also, see Chapter 6 for some tips on valuing a property.
Also thanks to the MLS the task of selling a property (and finding a property) becomes more efficient. With an MLS, you can instruct your realtor to print out a list of all the properties within a given area that meet a set of specifications, including price; even if your realtor doesn’t have any listings that fit your specifications, he or she can use the MLS to access properties listed with other realtors and thus show you a much wider range of possibilities. Without an MLS, you are best advised to consult with a number of different realtors and you will have to spend a lot more time in the car, both accompanied by those realtors and on your own, in search of properties that are for sale but not listed with a realty company. And, once you find a property that interests you, then you’ll have to do research in order to assess whether the price is fair or not.
The Costa Rica MLS also is the only verified source of inventory since every property is cross checked against the national registry for accuracy and ensuring marketable title.
