| When buying or selling properties in Arizona, one could | | | | also has a very large MLS. Payson, a popular mountain |
| get virtually nowhere without the Multiple Listing | | | | town for second home buyers, on the other hand, has |
| Service (MLS). The MLS is a database of homes for | | | | its own system with less than 1000 members. La Paz |
| sale and an offer amongst brokers to compensate | | | | County MLS which primarily serves Parker, Arizona, |
| one another if they represent a buyer that purchases | | | | has an MLS with only a handful of member-brokers. |
| their listed property. It is the single best marketing tool | | | | One MLS in the Eastern part of state is nothing more |
| available for sellers. For buyers, it is the single best | | | | than a small website with a short list of properties. |
| means of finding homes. By hiring a real estate agent | | | | It is extremely important to be placed in the correct |
| with MLS access or browsing MLS listings on a | | | | MLS. A property in Prescott, Arizona, would need to |
| website, buyers can locate a multitude of purchase | | | | be listed in the Prescott MLS to be visible to local |
| options without having to drive around all day looking | | | | Prescott Realtors working with their clients. Even if a |
| for "For Sale" signs. Both buyers and sellers can use | | | | particular Prescott Realtor also worked the Valley of |
| MLS sales data to identify similar sold properties | | | | the Sun and held an ARMLS membership, they would |
| ("comps"), an extremely useful step in deciding how to | | | | not log in to ARMLS to locate properties in Prescott. |
| price a property or what to offer. | | | | They utilize the Prescott MLS when looking for or |
| While the MLS is an extremely useful tool, how it is set | | | | listing Prescott properties; they would make use of |
| up is a mystery to most homeowners. While MLS | | | | ARMLS for Maricopa and Pinal county (Phoenix area) |
| systems are typically set up as a separate | | | | properties. Some buyers and sellers mistakenly believe |
| corporation, each MLS is affiliated with local | | | | that ARMLS is a statewide MLS, allowing a |
| associations of Realtors. In some cases, multiple | | | | Phoenix-area Realtor to list properties statewide and |
| associations will combine to form or own their own an | | | | allowing them full access to MLS data on all properties |
| MLS. For instance, in Northwestern Arizona, three | | | | in the state. This is not the case. Each area has its |
| separate Mohave county-based Realtor associations, | | | | own system, its own membership requirements and |
| Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, and Kingman, have | | | | fees, its own policies, etc. In Southern Arizona, for |
| combined their systems to form one system called | | | | instance, some Realtors have joined 3 different MLS's: |
| WARDEX (Western Arizona Regional Data | | | | Tucson Area, Green Valley, and Southeast Arizona in |
| Exchange). In the Phoenix area, five separate | | | | order to tap into a larger number of communities. |
| associations share the same system called ARMLS | | | | Being placed in the correct MLS system is critical to |
| (Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service). | | | | sellers of residential real estate. Taking a minute to |
| Multiple Listing Services vary greatly in size. The | | | | understand the different systems in Arizona is |
| Phoenix system, ARMLS, is the fifth largest in the | | | | beneficial for all homeowners. |
| nation with approximately 40,000 members. Tucson | | | | |