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Jersey Multiple Listing Service for Less

Most Real Estate agents in New Jersey charge a 6% commission to list a seller’s property. What service are they providing for their share of the commission? Nine times out of ten they will advertise your property on the MLS or Multiple Listing Service, this is often their only way to advertise and market your home. But is advertising your home in the MLS worth the high price? Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of the MLS:

The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is a database that contains all properties listed for sale in New Jersey. Listing Realtors use the MLS as a selling tool to showcase each of the properties they have listed. Why? It is considered the number one vehicle for listing a property and getting it sold. But how does the MLS work exactly? By entering all information about the listed property, including a picture, it allows not just one Realtor, but all Realtors searching for a property like yours to have the information immediately.

The Multiple Listing Service is the most efficient, most reliable way for your property information to be available to thousands of Realtors who may have a potential buyer. It’s a simple formula: The greater exposure a property receives, the greater the chance of that property selling quickly and at a favorable price for the seller.

Real Estate regulations typically restrict membership to the MLS to real estate agents who are licensed by the state, and are members of the trade association (e.g., the National Association of Realtors). In addition, the National Association of Realtors has strict policies that allow brokers to only show a limited amount of MLS information on their websites, so unlike what any Realtor may have told you, not all of the Realtor’s listings can appear on their personal website or on other sites they may use to advertise, such as REALTOR.com. Your property will gain the most exposure just by being in the MLS, not by being advertised by your Realtor. So why are you paying such a high commission just to be in the Multiple Listing Service?

It used to be that there was only one way to be included in the New Jersey MLS: Sign an Exclusive listing contract with a Realtor, who will usually charge you a commission equal to 3% of the selling price, plus you will also need to pay the Realtor who will represent your future buyer, usually another 3% commission, for a whopping total of 6% of your selling price! Now there’s an alternative: Some real estate agents will only charge you an MLS Flat Fee to list your property. What is truly incredible is that the Flat Rate can be as low as $299 to be included in the MLS + 2% to the buyer’s agent who produces a buyer for your property!



What does this mean if you are a seller? It could save you thousands of dollars!

Let’s look at the numbers:

Let’s say your home is listed by a traditional real estate agent at 6%, the commission breakdown is 3% to the buyer and 3% to the seller. What you would ultimately pay if your home is sold at full price is $18,000 in commission.

Now let’s look at the alternative:

Pay a Flat Rate, as low as $299 to be included in the MLS, plus a 2% commission to the buyer’s agent. This would equal a savings of $11,701 for you, the seller! And by the way, you pay NO commission if you sell your property on your own.

Real Estate MLS

Which would you choose? …The answer is obvious!

With favorable low mortgage rates, home sales in New Jersey continue at a strong pace. Great news for NJ home sellers as well : The average NJ home price continues to climb! What does this point to? This is still a seller’s market. In every NJ county covered by the MLS, the asking price or listing price versus the price sold falls within 96% to 98% on average.

Advertising your property for sale in the New Jersey MLS is still the best way for your property to gain the most exposure, now you can have the advantage of the multiple listing service and save a substantial amount of money on commissions by taking advantage of the MLS flat rate listing.