@Fred - When I said broker owned MLS's ... I implied that all brokers that are members of the MLS are co-owners of the MLS...therefore ..the brokers who are members ultimately get to make and set policies ...not NAR. Who says there aren't MLS's owned or controlled by NAR. The ones that are must follow the policies set forth by NAR ... including the DOJ vs NAR lawsuit settlement. As a broker-owned MLS, ours does not have to bend to every will of the NAR.

That's fine if you disagree...I disagree with your assessment on how wonderful Realtor.com is. People use the websites that are the most useful and the easiest to use. In the area I service, ..I don't believe realtor.com is one of those sites. Not to mention how much $$ realtor.com wants from agents.

I think what website people use to search depends on where they are looking. In our area, a huge number of people go to hreo.com, which has north and south forks properties. They also use realtor.com and mlsli.com. The problem is that there are too many website that call themselves MLS whatever, that have nothing to DO with our MLS at all! There are NO LISTINGS for my town on mls.com, which apparently is owned by Homegain. I know there are because I have 2. And this site calls itself “America’s Real Estate Portal”.

James, I have to disagree with you on "Realtor.com being just another site to get listings" It's really the most popular real estate site for sure. Trulia being another popular site. Our MLS feeds data to both and many other sites like Zillow, Frontdoor, Yahoo, and dozens others. Feeds are critical to marketing the listing out on the web... Your MLS sounds a bit backwards.

BTW, MLS's are NOT owned by NAR...

Also, having a single "broker" own the MLS sounds like a bad idea to me. MLS should be run by a board of individuals (all participating in local real estate), not by one broker. Sounds like a monopoly.

Are you kidding? Realtor.com is just another site ...actually it's made by move.com and is way more expensive than it really needs to be. Zillow rivals realtor.com in terms of traffic reach according to alexa.com. I have not met a buyer that uses realtor.com. Locally, we have many extremely capable and with far better user interfaces to find homes and far less costly.

Here's one stat I do not know where to get...but many MLS's are NAR owned ...and ours is broker owned. I'd love to know how many broker owned MLS's still have a contract with realtor.com. I'd be curious to see the difference. Realtor.com is really...just another site to get listings. Realtor.com is not the only website people look..there's lots of them. ...and the others are much better.

Why would any MLS not want to automatically feed listings to the #1 real estate website in the country? That's just insane! It's a huge loss for the public.

@Fred - our NWMLS does not automatically feed realtor.com anymore. Realtor.com ...in my opinion is a rip off and the NWMLS (through its own reasons) severed or chose not to continue their relationship with realtor.com. So..unless the individual agent or broker is feeding realtor.com with listings... realtor.com is not a reliable source for homes in our area.

Bradley,
Trulia.com and Realtor.com both offer the "listing agent" info and phone number of the brokerage. You can find homes on Realtor.com by MLS number too.

Hope that helps!

I totally agree that the MLS website is a terrible experience...

@Bradley - that info is one of the few bits of info that is purposely not shown to consumers ... all the brokerages that provide the websites for you to search on want business to go to them ...not to the listing agent. All sites will show which brokerage the listing is from ...and that's about it.
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Correct, but if Bradley wants, he can then go to the brokerage's website and see who the listing agent is. Or call the brokerage.

@Stacey Lange - true..you can search for homes through the NWMLS public website directly, but it is just about the worst user experience there is.

@Kenzie - I've found this not to hold true in all cases... I came across a ton of listings claimed to be listed by someone and none of the listings were actually his when I cross-checked it on the NWMLS. And the info is only as good as the agent that inputs it in. If they don't input it in, then it's not shown.

@Bradley - that info is one of the few bits of info that is purposely not shown to consumers ... all the brokerages that provide the websites for you to search on want business to go to them ...not to the listing agent. All sites will show which brokerage the listing is from ...and that's about it.

Bradley,
Trulia and Zillow will are two websites that allow you to contact the agent directly. Most websites will only show you their agents or allow you to contact someone on their team for further information. Although frustrating for buyers looking to contact the listing agent directly, it is in the buyer's best interest to have a representative. Without a buyer's agent, the listing agent can take advantage of the buyer as they solely represent the seller and are required to get them the best deal.
Should you need a buyer's representative, I would love to assist in negotiating on your behalf and ensuring the contract is accurately filled out to represent your correctly. :)

Buyer's agents do not charge to help you find a home. It might be easier for you to find one that you would like to work with. They can provide you with all the information you are asking.

If there a certain property you are interested in? It is easy for a buyers agent to locate ANY info. on the properties as well. Most real estate websites will state which brokerage has the listing.

You can search the NW MLS website directly which will provide you with each listing agent's name and contact information for the property.

http://www.nwrealestate.com

You should be able to get that information from the MLS for that particular area, or the company website that has the listing. Usually even on feeds, there's a statement "listing courtesy of" whatever brokerage the listing is from.