Effective Home Selling via MLS
The simple fact is that the Multiple Listing Service, otherwise known as the MLS, is one of the most effective home-selling tools at the fingertips of real estate agents and for sale by owner-sellers alike. As far as a resource compiling the homes for sale in a particular area, no service has yet matched the utilization and breadth of the MLS service, making it a staple of marketing efforts for all those looking to buy or sell a home.
The prominent standing can sometimes come in between a seller and his or her desire to go through the selling process alone without a real estate agent. Certainly, the MLS is a great marketing tool for a real estate agent, but it has become accessible for sale by owner-sellers as well. That accessibility means that the decision then becomes for sellers whether to pony up the flat fee most providers require to list a home or go without. The evidence, through the sheer numbers, overwhelmingly supports listing with the MLS.
Unmatched Exposure
Recent reports have stated that the MLS is the way four out of every five real estate buyers found the property they ended up buying. Interpreting that 
statistic differently shows that 80 percent of all homes are sold through the MLS, leaving only 20 percent of sales generated through other means. It is no wonder, given this statistic, that real estate agents have made the MLS the very foundation of their marketing efforts, and no wonder why it is universally recommended to get a home for sale on the MLS.
That 20 percent is purchased through mechanisms like classified ads, Craigslist, and other online posting sites that offer exposure, but clearly not the level of exposure an MLS listing brings. No matter if you are a real estate agent or for sale by owner, having a home for sale means listing it on the MLS, without question. The flat fee for sale by owner would pay upfront is more than made up for in the exposure generated and the potential for a much quicker sale before a price drop even has to be considered.
Increase Your Own Odds
Listing on the MLS increases the number of real estate agents representing buyers that will come across your listing. The fact will increase the showings your home receives and is based strictly on the odds that the perfect buyer will walk through your home, the more showings, the better. Few other marketing techniques have the ability to get a home for sale so many showings with so little effort. Creating an MLS listing is as basic as listing the traits of your home so that they can be searched by potential buyers.
While all of this seems overwhelmingly positive, there are drawbacks to the format of the typical MLS listing. Listings viewed via the original version of the service house only have short descriptions and often a single photo, paling in comparison to some of the lengthy profiles that can be created online with multiple pictures to entice the buyer. The original version of the MLS also chiefly caters to local Realtors while online resources can put your home directly in front of the eyes of buyers no matter their location.
Given all of the pros and cons of the service, the numbers simply show that the MLS is worth the investment in spite of some of its limitations. Listing your home puts it in the same neighborhood as 80 percent of the other home sales in your area, a figure so staggering it cannot be ignored. The simplicity and power of the MLS are slowly changing to a more web-based format, but as it stands, the MLS remains the staple of marketing homes for sale in any area.