Austin MLS Info Just Launched!

Great Austin Properties is happy to announce that we just launched a new website, Austin-MLS-Info.com, a great place to find information about the Austin MLS. Have you ever wondered what MLS stands for, how the Austin MLS got started, or what regions and cities are covered by the system? Ever wondered if you could do an Austin MLS search online? We’ve got the answers for you at Austin-MLS-Info.com.

Just as Great Austin Properties created Austin Home Listings to empower your Austin Home Search, we created the Austin MLS Info site to help you learn more about the system that captures Austin homes for sale. We work to make your real estate transactions a fun and easy experience with our websites and the experience of our professional REALTOR® team. If you like our sites, we think you’ll love working with us. Call Great Austin Properties at 512.600.1800 today - one of our REALTORS® is ready to assist you!

New Austin Interactive Map Search

Our third party MLS search tool provider, Mlsfinder recently uploaded a new interactive map based search to our site http://www.austinhomelistings.com/. If you’ve used the Austin Interactive Map search before you know how cool it is to see Austin homes for sale displayed on a map that you can zoom in, move left or right and even change parameters from homes to land. The new map tool is even larger and shows the different type of properties better. Check out the new map at Austin Interactive Map Search. As always, if you need help using the site or want to visit any home you find, please contact one of our Realtors at Great Austin Properties.

*Austin MLS Finder and mlsfinder Austin are tools provided by mlsfinder.com

New Austin MLS Area Boundaries

The Austin Board of REALTORS, the organization that manages the Austin multiple listing service data, recently modified the Austin MLS area boundaries. For example, the old central Austin areas 1b & 4 have given way to the new areas DT & UT with the old area 4 moving up to northern part of area 1b all the way to Hwy 183. Confusing? Here’s a real life example for fans of central Austin. A home in Rosedale north of 35th street and a home in the Allandale area south of Koenig lane used to be considered area 1b. Now, those same homes would be listed in the new area 4. (On a side note… I believe the 1b area designation helped the value of those homes because it grouped those homes in with Tarrytown, Brykerwoods, and the always tony, Pemberton. That’s another post.) So, if you are used to searching 1b only you may consider new areas such as areas 4, DT and UT. One other solution to finding homes is to use our map search tool which allows you to effectively create your own areas. For those people that use the Austin MLS areas for their searches, our search tool is still showing the old map, but we are working closely with our programmers to get the new area map up and running.

As always, if you can’t find exactly what you are searching for on www.austinhomelistings.com please contact the REALTORS at Great Austin Properties directly at 512.577.6441. We have access to the real MLS tools and can help you find exactly what you are searching for.

Austin Home Search - Tell People

Special Note from the Owner of www.AustinHomeListings.com

I think we offer the best Austin home search experience on the web.  As you may already know, we have the cool mapping feature, predefined neighborhood queries, virtual tours and more. To top it off, we don’t even make you register unless you want to use the advanced features like setting up your own favorite’s folder or signing up for regular email alerts. 

Of course, we created the best Austin Home Search tool so we could meet new clients, provide outstanding service, and of course, earn a decent living. We always believed that if someone likes our site, they will probably like working with us.  We are customer focused, and detailed oriented much like this site. Of couse, we recognize that many of you will use our website and still work with other REALTORS. (In fact, we know a lot of REALTORS use our site because it is easier to search than the real MLS. That’s a future blog post.) We’re ok with that too, but for all those people who love our site, we ask one thing in return…

Please tell people about www.AustinHomeListings.com. I’m serious. The more people that use our site, the more likely it is that we get a new customer, earn revenue and ultimately reinvest some cash back into the site and develop new Austin Home Search features such as Arial mapping, local retail information and more.  So either hire us as your REALTOR (you won’t be sorry) or at least tell your friends about www.austinhomelistings.com, link to the site, blog about us, etc. 

Thanks for your continued support,

Great Austin Properties Management

What is the MLS?

What is the MLS?
The MLS, or officially the Multiple Listing Service, is an agreement among cooperating REALTORS® to share their agency’s listing information for the benefit of their clients. REALTORS® do this using a professionally run database of information about homes for sale within the area that their Board serves. For instance, Austin and surrounding area properties are served by the MLS system managed by the Austin Board of REALTORS®. Because the MLS system is run by a local REALTOR® organization with permissions and rules regarding its use, the accuracy of information in an MLS system is far greater than a open community database could ever achieve. Funds to maintain the MLS system come from REALTORS® in the form of dues paid throughout the year.
How It Works
REALTORS® hired by home sellers to represent them, list the clients’ property in the MLS. The REALTOR® includes all types of information that a buyer would need to evaluate a property including price, square feet, location, bedrooms and more. Other REALTORS®, representing people who wish purchase property, search the MLS for properties that meet the needs of their clients.

How can I list my home on the MLS?
Hire a REALTOR® to represent you, the property seller. A REALTOR® who is member of the board where you wish to list your home is the only person who can access the MLS.

When I am using AustinHomeListings.com, am I searching the MLS?
No. A subset of the listing data entered in the actual MLS is made available to other REALTORS® for use on their websites. This subset of data comes in the form of a data feed called the IDX exchange usually once a day in the middle of the night. This data refreshes sites such as http://www.austinhomelistings.com/. Savvy Real estate professionals have learned to build websites that allow online users to search area homes for sale but the online users are NOT searching the actual MLS. Again, they are searching a subset of the data. In fact, the actual MLS system will always have more up to date information because the REALTOR® websites and sites such as REALTOR.com, have to wait for information via the IDX data feed. Once the IDX data feed comes in, it still doesn’t contain all the valuable data, such as days on market, how to access the home, when was it last sold. Only a REALTOR® will have access to all the information that will help you find the best home and negotiate the best price by accessing all the data in the MLS.

Will my home achieve a higher valuation if its listed on the MLS?
Research says yes. Sellers that work with a REALTOR® with the home listed in MLS, typically achieve a 20 percent higher valuation than those that do not. This information was provided by the Austin Board of REALTORS.
I want to sell my home on my own, but want it listed on the MLS, too. Can I do that?
Yes and no. In Texas, real estate agents are required to provide a minimum level of service to clients. If a REALTOR® lists your home on the MLS, at a minimum they must also help you evaluate and negotiate offers you receive from buyers. However, when you use a REALTOR®, their time and experience are working for you as well. In addition to selling your home for a higher price than you’ll likely achieve on your own, REALTORS® save you time and will protect your interests.

Welcome to AustinHomeListings.com

Thank you for using www.AustinHomeListings.com. This site was built to simplify and empower your Austin home search. How do we do that? Let me explain.

1. Your Search Simplified - We spent a lot of time (and money) designing a nice, clean layout with serious thought as to how a user would interact with the site.  We talked to friends and asked them what home search sites they have used in the past and what they wanted in a new site. For example, many people told us that they already know what neighborhood they want to live in, but there was no online tool to find homes for sale for their desired subdivision. For those users, we built the Quick Search with pre-defined queries for homes in over seventy Austin neighborhoods. We are adding neighborhoods to this list all the time. If you don’t see the neighborhood your looking for, email us and we will add it.

2. Your Search Empowered - With Austin homes selling at a record pace, I want you to have the information before your competition, the other guy who wants the same home you want, knows about it. Using our site, you can create a custom Austin Home search that matches your parameters exactly and then tell the site to email you when a new listing matches your criteria.  In many cases, knowing about the home as soon as it is listed can be the difference between getting the home you want and losing it to someone else.