Is the Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles? Yes and no. Sequim and Port Angeles in Clallam County have two multiple listing services (MLS’s). It’s unfortunate, because there are a number of negative implications to having two competing MLS’s. Having two MLS’s creates confusion for buyers, and they may miss a home that is in one MLS and not the other. It also creates confusion for sellers, because many sellers don’t understand the importance of being listed in both MLS’s at this time. The last negative implication of two MLS’s is that some brokers who choose to be a member of both, have to pay twice as much in fees and must enter listings twice as many times and maintain listings twice as many times.
Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles
All Sequim and Port Angeles real estate brokers are members of the Olympic Listing Service (OLS), but not all are members of the Northwest MLS. The last time I examined the stats, only about one-half to two-thirds of the local listings were in the Northwest MLS. Why is this important? Because all the real estate brokers and agents in Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Kent, Tacoma, Puyallup, and most of the State of Washington are exclusively using the Northwest MLS and do not have access to the subscription side of the OLS. So if a Seattle agent is trying to find a listing for a buyer in Sequim or Port Angeles, and the listing agent is not a member of the Northwest MLS, they simply won’t find it.
Listings Not in The Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles
Many homeowners in Sequim and Port Angeles who list their homes for sale want to know that their homes are getting the broadest possible exposure, and that other agents are able to sell the properties, too. It is in the homeowner’s best interest to get the home sold: they don’t care which agent sells it so long as it gets sold. But a listing that is not in the Northwest MLS will not get exposed to thousands of agents in the largest metropolitan area in the State. That’s not good for sellers.
I did an analysis of which brokers are members of the Northwest MLS and which brokers in Sequim and Port Angeles are not members. All of this is public information (NWRealEstate.com Membership – Search by Name of Office), and anyone who asks any of these brokers if they are members or not will get a simple answer of yes or no. Each broker can explain to their listing clients why they are or are not members of the Northwest MLS. I encourage all brokers to be members, because I think the Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles is a vital part of marketing listings for homeowners. It’s interesting that as important as the Northwest MLS is in marketing listings today, only 44% of the Sequim real estate brokers are members, and in Port Angeles only 50% of the brokers are members. I find that most homeowners are totally unaware of the importance of promoting their listing outside the area in the NWMLS.
If you are going to list your home with a Realtor, may I recommend that you ask, “Are you a member of the Northwest MLS and will my listing be in the NWMLS?” Or you can simply search the public NWMLS membership page by clicking on the image above.
Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles Essential
Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC (that would be me) believes that the Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles is a huge benefit to sellers, and I love the technical proficiency of the system as well as the local (Kirkland) technical support. It is one of the most powerful MLS services in the U.S., and all my listing clients get their listings in both the Northwest MLS and the OLS. I do that because my promise to each of my clients is to market each listing to as many possible buyers and also to as many possible Realtors as I can. Who knows where the buyer will come from. That’s not my concern. My concern is helping each client get their home sold for the highest possible price in the least amount of time, and so I want to broadcast the listing everywhere that I believe is effective.
You can see my own programmed Northwest and OLS MLS site, which was the first in Sequim and Port Angeles years ago to include an option for buyers to use a pull-down menu to search either MLS, but if they search by address or MLS number, my system automatically searches both MLS’s simultaneously. Isn’t that what buyers want, and just as importantly, don’t sellers want their homes to show up to as many buyers as possible? Absolutely!
This is why I’m glad the Northwest MLS in Sequim and Port Angeles is available to me and all my clients and prospective buyers.
Last Updated on November 26, 2012 by Chuck Marunde
