The Big Sky Country MLS (BSCMLS) service area consists of 11 counties in Southwest Montana. Only licensed real estate professionals who are members of the BSCMLS, and have paid the required fees, can access and use the BSCMLS database.

The BSCMLS provides an online platform to real estate professionals that compiles home listings from brokerages throughout Montana, primarily within the BSCMLS service area. The MLS enables agents to efficiently see available homes for sale and get helpful marketplace data, and shares listing information with national and local real estate websites that advertise property information.

Brokerages (and their agents) joining the BSCMLS agree to abide by a set of rules when working to sell other brokers’ listings, and those brokers agree to do the same in return.

The MLS is a unique tool, in that competitors must cooperate to successfully close transactions. This “broker cooperative” creates the marketplace that makes buying, selling, and investing in property more transparent and efficient.

What value does the MLS provide?

• The MLS exposes a property to every broker in the marketplace who may be working with buyers in search of this same kind of property. This can include Internet marketing that brokers approve through the MLS.

• Even listings that need privacy can be excluded from Internet marketing, yet still be delivered to the MLS’s brokers for more discreet exposure to potential buyers.

• MLSs allow real estate professionals to see, share, and promote homes for sale so they can be found by the largest pool of potential buyers.

• MLSs provide the most accurate, reliable, and detailed information about properties (both that have sold and are for sale), including listing price, address, features, disclosures, and square footage.

• MLSs also help promote fair housing and equal opportunity by giving real estate professionals and their clients access to consistent information.

• MLSs are the most trusted source for real estate data because their information is verified by real estate professionals.

• Listing your property through the Big Sky Country MLS will help you reach the largest pool of buyers and potentially attract the best offer.

• CONTACT A REAL ESTATE BROKER FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO LIST YOUR HOME ON THE BIG SKY COUNTRY MLS.
  

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Am I required to market my home through an MLS?

No. You should discuss the pros and cons with your agent. If you decide to have your agent not list your home on an MLS, you will be asked to sign an Office Exclusive document verifying that you as the seller have made this choice on your own.

You also have the option of using a "Delayed Marketing" tactic, where the listing is active on the MLS and visible to participating brokers, and possibly those brokers' buyers, but any public marketing through the MLS to the internet is delayed for an unlimited period of time, determined entirely by the seller.

Explain "Delayed Marketing".

Delayed Marketing is where you, as the seller, direct your listing broker to delay the public marketing of your property through the internet and syndication options within the MLS. A delayed marketing listing is still entered on the MLS, it's just not visible on public search websites like Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, Homes.com, or any brokerage sites. Furthermore, nothing precludes the listing firm from marketing the listing in a manner consistent with your choice, through traditional methods like print, radio, TV, social media, or other methods. This policy is one of the components included in NAR's "Multiple Listing Options for Sellers Policy".

Explain what “Office Exclusive” means.

An office exclusive listing is exclusive to the listing office...it's as simple as that!

It's a type of listing agreement where the property is only marketed within the listing brokerage. It's not advertised publicly, and it's not shared with cooperating brokerages that participate in the MLS. Essentially, the seller grants exclusive marketing rights to the listing brokerage, which then shares the property exclusively with its own agents and brokers.

The office exclusive option is also part of NAR's Multiple Listing Options for Sellers Policy.

Here's a more detailed explanation of Office Exclusive listings:

Limited Marketing:

Unlike traditional listings that are widely advertised, office exclusives are marketed only within the listing brokerage's internal network. 

Limited Exposure:

The property won't be visible to other real estate agents or the public through standard real estate search platforms. 

Clear Cooperation Policy:

If an office exclusive is advertised publicly (e.g., email blasts, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, radio, TV, social media, or on the brokerage's website), it must also be submitted to the MLS for cooperation within 24 hours to avoid violating the Clear Cooperation Policy. 

The Clear Cooperation Policy is a rule enforced by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) that requires real estate agents to make properties listed with their brokerage visible to all other brokers who are members of the local MLS if that property is being publicly advertised.

Click Here for More Information about Office Exclusive Listings, Including the Required Documentation to be Submitted to the MLS.