What is a multiple listing service (MLS)?

A multiple listing service, or MLS, is a shared database where real estate agents post properties for sale and make them visible to other agents and, often, to public portals. It is the industry’s common source of truth for what is on the market.

The idea is cooperation. By pooling listings, agents give every property wider exposure and every buyer a fuller view of the market than any single agent could offer alone.

Much of what you see on public property portals traces back to an MLS feed, which is why accurate, well structured listing data matters so much.

Sthenos builds real estate platforms that handle listing data at scale, like a property listing portal for a leading real estate company.

Related terms: property listing portal, PropTech.

Is an MLS open to the public?

Access is mainly for member agents, but much of the data flows out to public listing portals that buyers and renters use.