Throughout virtually all of the United States, home listings are entered into something called the Multiple Listing Service (or MLS). In New York City, we have no MLS.  What we do have is a system whereby sellers list their homes with an agent on an exclusive right to sell basis. Under this type of listing, the seller cannot market the home on his or her own and gives complete control of the marketing of the property to his exclusive agent. The exclusive agent will photograph the property, have a floor plan prepared, advertise the property in the newspaper and put it on their company website. The exclusive agent will also offer the property to other agents who are licensed to sell real estate in the State of New York on a co-brokerage basis. If the listing broker sells the property on his own, his company and he receive the entire commission. If the listing is sold by an agent from another company, the commission is shared between the two companies.

What this means to the consumer is the following: A broker from any major New York City real estate company has access to all of the currently available listings that are on the market. Brokers who are independent and work on their own or are affiliated with small companies may not have all of the available listings in their data base, although if they are members of the Real Estate Board of New York, they can show the exclusives of other agents from other companies who are Real Estate Board members. There is no central data base where a consumer can search on his or her own to find all of the available properties that are on the market that meet his or her criteria. In a marketplace such as ours, it is extremely important for buyers of Manhattan properties to work with an agent who is affiliated with a major company and able to show them all available properties. Even more importantly for sellers of Manhattan homes, it is vital that properties be made available to the entire pool of buyers who are out there looking. My association with Prudential Douglas Elliman is a huge advantage for both buyers and sellers. For buyers, I can show you every property that is suitable for you. For sellers, I expose your home to the entire pool of potential buyers not only through my own website but also through Prudential Douglas Elliman’s website and, indeed, through the entire Prudential network which has offices in the entire 50 states, Canada and Mexico.