MLS Listing in Arizona

In order to get your property listed on the MLS in Arizona, you will need to first contact a real estate agent that is a member of your local MLS. While real estate licensees are licensed to sell real estate anywhere in the state, the state still is made of multiple independent MLS systems, so you need to ensure that the broker you list a property with is a member of the correct local MLS for you area. Simply stated, there is not one master MLS system for the entire state of Arizona. A Tucson broker would most likely be a member of the Tucson MLS system, but most Tucson brokers are not also members of the Phoenix system. There are certainly exceptions, however. For instance, a real estate broker that was active in Green Valley that occasionally drove to Tucson to list or sell real estate, might be a member of both systems. Being on the wrong system will not do you much good; while it will get your property displayed on certain websites like Realtor.com®, it will not be searchable by local agents, nor will it be displayed on their websites unless it is in the correct MLS. So having your property in the correct MLS system is critical.

Since only brokers can list properties in the MLS, you will need to sign a listing agreement with a broker. There are basically two types of brokers, traditional brokers and flat fee MLS brokers. A traditional broker will require a commission be paid to them, a portion of which they will share with a buyer's agent in the event that there is one. While there is no set fee, the commission tends to be quite pricey. Many sellers cannot stomach the fact that a very good-sized chunk of their equity is going to go to the listing broker. The second type of broker is a flat fee MLS broker. This broker does not receive a commission at closing. Instead, they receive a small flat fee for listing the property in the MLS and possibly a few other services. The listing agreement the seller signs with a flat fee MLS broker has the ability for the seller to compensate the buyer's broker. In the event that a buyer's broker is involved in the transaction, the buyer's broker would receive the pre-determined amount. If no buyer's broker is involved, then no commissions are paid at closing.

Sellers need to understand the importance of the MLS. The MLS is a marketing and exposure tool unlike any other. At one time, the MLS was an actual book of properties that an agent thumbed through. Nowadays, it is a real-time system that agents search for full detailed information of what is available. A portion of that data is also fed to both national Internet websites like Realtor.com® and local Internet websites like azcentral.com; these sites are heavily trafficked and searchable by consumers. So beyond being a method to offer compensation to the brokerage community, the MLS is by far the most powerful marketing tool available.