For over 100 years, estate agents have made use of a unique collaboration that assists them in finding buyers and sellers of real estate from a net that is larger than their own. This collaboration is known as Multi-Listing Services (MLS). MLS’s have existed in many forms over the last few decades but the principles remain the same.
Through an agreement to share and promote properties through the many members of an MLS association, our agents are able to source buyers and sellers faster and broaden the range of search criteria, making the whole process far more efficient to accurately sell or procure property for our clients.
Through an agreement to share and promote properties through the many members of an MLS association, our agents are able to source buyers and sellers faster and broaden the range of search criteria, making the whole process far more efficient to accurately sell or procure property for our clients.
On the other hand, herein lies the MLS vs Sole Mandate argument. Our simple answer is this – we need to be flexible.
"My opinion is that the only time Sole Mandate works well is if there is a shortage of property stock. We need to remain flexible and balanced in our marketing approaches."
Norma Taylor - Propvest Director
With its predominant history lying in the American market, MLS works well for them. In the South African market many agencies prefer to stick with the Sole Mandate approach. However, with an economy as vicissitudinous as ours, coupled with the large geography of Johannesburg, we need to follow the trends and adapt our approach in a way that will best benefit our clients.
Both MLS and Sole Mandates offer the benefit of being able to hold the agent responsible and answerable to their sole mandate, however, with a Sole Mandate all potential buyers are obliged to negotiate through the sole agent. If different agents introduced these buyers, one agent would be competing with another instead of the buyer competing on the price. This works well in a seller’s market, but currently, we find that the reverse works better as there are fewer qualifying buyers, making it a buyer’s market.
At Propvest we have found that the West and East Rands are established in the MLS approach, whilst the Northern Suburbs work mainly with sole mandates. This is largely due to tradition as the agencies that are active there have always worked with Sole Mandates.
Norma Taylor says, “the Northern Suburbs have mostly marketed their properties through the local print media, so, with residential real estate marketing moving in the direction of internet based platforms, Sole Mandates are not necessarily so effective anymore. My opinion is that the only time Sole Mandate works well is if there is a shortage of property stock. We need to remain flexible and balanced in our marketing approaches.”
Both MLS and Sole Mandates offer the benefit of being able to hold the agent responsible and answerable to their sole mandate, however, with a Sole Mandate all potential buyers are obliged to negotiate through the sole agent. If different agents introduced these buyers, one agent would be competing with another instead of the buyer competing on the price. This works well in a seller’s market, but currently, we find that the reverse works better as there are fewer qualifying buyers, making it a buyer’s market.
At Propvest we have found that the West and East Rands are established in the MLS approach, whilst the Northern Suburbs work mainly with sole mandates. This is largely due to tradition as the agencies that are active there have always worked with Sole Mandates.
Norma Taylor says, “the Northern Suburbs have mostly marketed their properties through the local print media, so, with residential real estate marketing moving in the direction of internet based platforms, Sole Mandates are not necessarily so effective anymore. My opinion is that the only time Sole Mandate works well is if there is a shortage of property stock. We need to remain flexible and balanced in our marketing approaches.”
