Listing exchange system: a tool of the estate agent's trade
Text from 2022. Laws, rates and prices may have changed since then. Ask an agent
When we decide to use the services of an estate agent, we hope they will help us effectively reach the clients who may be most interested in our listing. Agents with standing and experience on the market have a tool that is an indispensable help in this. What is it?
The MLS: a platform for agents only
The Multiple Listing System (MLS for short) is one of the most important working tools of every estate agent, known in Poland most often as the System Wielokrotnej Wymiany Ofert (Multiple Listing Exchange System). This comprehensive platform brings together estate agencies and their agents, as well as independent agents from across the country, enabling them to exchange sale or rental listings with one another easily and quickly.
Only registered, vetted agents who undertake to follow the platform's rules strictly have access to the system. In this way the Multiple Listing System guarantees its users confidence in the transactions they carry out. Private individuals looking for a flat or planning to sell their property therefore cannot join the system.
Because of the possibilities and security it provides, the MLS became popular among agents in the United States and Western European countries, where it has been used for several decades. In our country there are currently several multiple listing platforms. The largest of them, MLS WSPON, brings together almost 3,000 active estate agents.
Importantly, the system collects only listings under exclusive agency agreements (umowa na wyłączność) between the agent and the client. This means that the client may not list the property on other websites or work with other agents. Despite these restrictions, an exclusive agency agreement has big advantages. Thanks to it, the estate agent and the flat owner can concentrate on preparing a single but consistent and well-thought-out sales listing, which will have the best chance of reaching potential buyers.
And what does the client gain from the exchange system?
The benefits that working with an agent who has access to the MLS can bring to flat sellers are truly measurable. First of all, listing the property on the exchange system guarantees that it will reach agencies and agents from all over Poland, increasing the chances of connecting with the most suitable buyer. Thanks to the listing exchange system, many clients have found a buyer for their property in distant corners of the country; this would have been almost impossible without cooperation between the agents registered in the system.
At the same time, the MLS guarantees security and the highest standard of handling the listing, which, after all, ends up in the hands of trusted agents. They can boast many years of experience, certificates earned and high effectiveness in supporting flat sales.
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