Multiple Listing Service (or MLS) is a platform that brokers can make use of as virtual network connecting them together through contractual offers of compensation among each other, facilitating therefore their work and serving better their clientele and the public. It is normally a software-based system gathering the database of properties of all brokers involved.
As brokers always found interest in sharing information about the properties they have in hand, it has been becoming more and more common to refer to each other potential buyers and sellers, thus earning their commission accordingly, under the principle of "help me sell my inventory and I'll help you sell yours". Some brokers often fell victims of unethical behavior though, especially with the absence of any measures or laws that protect their business.
Normally in advanced markets, like in the USA or the UK for example, taking part of a certain MLS system requires membership in realtors associations, or licensing from governmental authorities.
In Lebanon, it is only recently that the Real Estate Association of Lebanon (R.E.A.L) was established, promising to develop its members' profession and advance it. Working towards an effective MLS system is one of the targets it is thus working on.
Before that, it was hard to imagine any serious possibility to create a successful MLS system, due to several reasons. First of all, the brokerage market was and is still in total chaos. With the absence of proper regulations by the government, everyone can just be a broker, with all the bad consequences one could imagine... The establishment of R.E.A.L however draws the first steps towards creating reliable criteria for brokers' classification.
On another hand, development of electronic data of properties was not as advanced as it could be today, with the entrance of new professional players to the brokerage market. The shift from individual chaotic brokerage to established firms managed by full-time teams makes it further possible to guarantee continuous control over the authenticity and reliability of published information.
But would the public anyway have access to the listed properties, or would it just be a platform for registered brokers to make use of internally? That will be something to debate upon and thoroughly consider while working on such a project.
Besides, would an MLS system in Lebanon allow individual sellers to publish their own properties on the platform? Or would it restrict that privilege in order not to limit the need for agents to keep the credibility and reliability of information protected.
A lot of questions rise therefore about potential prospects of a Multiple Listing Service in Lebanon, although the market seems today more capable than ever to work on such a platform. One thing for sure is that MLS is one of the most reliable tools to link registered agents together under one platform, within a unified database, operating through a system that guarantees the rights of each agent and offering consequently more practical solutions to all stakeholders, being sellers, buyers, or even agents.
© Ekaruna 2010
