Quite simply the MLS originated as a broker cooperation tool so that brokers and agents from different companies had access to one another’s property for sale. In its infancy, this system was nothing more than just a list (hence the term “listing”) compiled by each office and shared w/ other local brokers with a promise to cooperate/split commissions if a broker from another company showed and sold the listing. As the MLS service developed in the 1990’s it became customary to see listings from other brokers published in an MLS book market CONFIDENTIAL FOR REAL ESTATE BROKERS ONLY. This book was published twice a month and was really the only way brokers knew what was on the market.

With the computer age came more information. It was quicker to get and easier for brokers to search by basic criteria; area, price range, bedrooms & baths, etc. Obviously, with the evolution of the computer and most recently the vast resource we have called the internet, more and more information became available and so did speed and accuracy.

Today, it is hard to imagine that “listing” information was once confidential to brokers only. Currently there are several hundred MLS systems in the country. Our system, TReND MLS, is one of the larger ones, comprising most of Delaware, parts of eastern Pennsylvania and a large section of New Jersey.

In order to access TReND directly, you must be a member affiliate. This requires the payment of bi-annual fees & strict adherence to the Rule & Regulations established & monitored by TReND. As a licensed real estate broker, agent, or appraiser, the member can access the MLS to research or add/alter property information. It is in this centralized system where past and present real estate data & property information is stored.

Once centralized and uniformly stored, this information can now be distributed to other databases and internet platforms. Though we pay for the services to have an MLS and provide all the data that makes up the MLS, all the information submitted immediately become property of TReND MLS. From there it is sold to a vast number of companies and websites that are willing to pay for that information. Many of which we are affiliated with as you will see in the marketing section of this website.

Related Pages:

What You Can Expect From Us

Marketing Your Property

What is the MLS?

The Commission Split

Real Savings

Save Thousands on Commissions

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