For everyone who is serious about searching for their next Chicago house, it’s no exaggeration to say that today’s Chicago MLS listings are an all-but-indispensable tool. Yes, it is still possible to find the property you’re looking for by driving around the area—it still happens that a “For Sale” yard sign or an intriguing ad in the local paper could catch your eye. But if you are any kind of discriminating buyer, even then, you will certainly refrain from presenting an offer until you’ve taken a hard look at the Chicago listings to be sure the asking price is in line with current comparable neighbors.
That’s where today’s online listings shine as a superb method of cataloging Chicago’s real estate “goods” for sale. It’s hard to conceive of a better system. Behind the glamour photos and descriptive language in the descriptive blurbs lie the nuts and bolts—the physical details laid out in a format that’s identical from property to property. The result makes apples-to-apples comparisons a snap.
But there is much more that makes the system so valuable. The “MLS” stands for “Multiple Listing Service”—with the “service” part being the tipoff that what you are viewing online is just the tip of a hidden Chicago real estate iceberg. Beneath what’s on the screen is a highly evolved system of codified practices and legal agreements that go into making the information reliable.
A property’s Chicago listing serves as an announcement to all that the agent offering the property has an agreement with the owner to sell at the price specified. For other agents and their brokers, an active listing also constitutes a guarantee to pay the stated commission if their clients succeed in purchasing the property.
So today’s Chicago listings are a good deal more than simply a well-organized, constantly updated catalog of Chicago homes for sale—they are also proof that the properties on display have been integrated into a tried-and-true system that facilitates buying and selling. As your real estate agent, my duty is to make certain that all the elements of the system work correctly and that your interests are advanced throughout—which is also why it’s a terrific idea to give me a call!
