By far the most exposure your home will get is by listing it on the multiple listing service (MLS). The MLS is the service that is used to share listings with all of the other real estate agents in the state. There are two benefits to posting your home on the MLS which are agent exposure and home browser exposure.
Agent Exposure
Getting your home posted to the MLS will allow all agents in your state to see your home. This allows for your home to show up on searches that have been set to meet client criteria and your home to be found by agents searching for homes with similar qualities. This is very important to the home selling process because agents typically come with more qualified buyers and the chance of you selling your home is increased. Also, an agent knows what to ask and how to vet the property for their clients right then and there so that there is no back and forth delaying the sale from happening.
Home Browser Exposure
When your home hits the MLS it is almost immediately picked up by the major real estate websites that make your listings available to potential buyers who are browsing sites like Zillow.com, Homes.com, and Redfin. This can generate a great deal of interest and drive buyers to your home for the open house. While these buyers can be as qualified as the agent buyers, the likelihood is that they will still need to go through a few steps before they are ready to put an offer in. Either way it’s a good idea to increase the number of people who attend your open house because sometimes they can be your buyer.
Coupled with social media, brokers opens, marketing material and private showings getting your home on the MLS can help you sell your home. It is a part of every agent’s marketing plan but needs other marketing strategies to accompany it for greatest effect.
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