How to Research Arizona Homes Online

Since you’ve arrived at this web site, you’ve already begun to research buying Arizona real estate.

The largest source, by far, of homes for sale in metro Phoenix is the Arizona Regional Multiple Listings Service which is our local “MLS.”

The Multiple Listings Service

The MLS is an association of licensed real estate agents who band together to help each other sell real estate. The MLS makes it easy for a member Realtor to promote a seller clients’ home (“listing”) to all other MLS members.

The MLS also makes it easy for members who represent buyers like you to find detailed information on tens of thousands of homes for sale.

To become a member of the local MLS, you must be licensed by the State of Arizona as a real estate agent and you must be a member of the Arizona Association of Realtors.

No National MLS

The United State does not have a national MLS like in Canada. There are many hundreds of local MLS’s each with its own rules and regulations.

Within Arizona, there is an MLS for metro Phoenix, another for metro Tucson and separate MLS’s for Flagstaff, Prescott, and several other smaller towns.

MLS information online

Today, MLS information on individual homes for sale is available online to the general public. The MLS’s, however, don’t share all their information with the public.

Phoenix area MLS

The metro Phoenix MLS does not have its own web site showing homes for sale. However, you can find MLS information on hundreds or perhaps thousands of web sites of individual Arizona Realtors who are members of the MLS.

For example, you can find metro Phoenix MLS listings on my web sites ArizonaRealEstateNotebook.com and ArizonaHomesCatalog.com.

The most popular single source for Phoenix MLS listings information online must be Realtor.com. Realtor.com, however, has a terrible search capability. Many individual Realtor web sites have a search function that is far superior to Realtor.com.

Tucson area MLS

Unlike the Phoenix MLS, the Tucson MLS has its own website which lists homes for sale, http://www.tarmls.com. The Tucson MLS information is also found on hundreds of individual Realtor web sites such as this one from an old family friend http://www.michaelblock.com.

Conclusion

MLS homes are available online on hundreds of websites so Canadian home buyers can easily get a feel for the real estate market in Arizona and whether they want to pursue purchasing an Arizona winter home.

I probably gave you more information that you wanted about the Multiple Listings Service, however, some of that information will come in handy later on when I explain how your real estate agent gets paid. (Hint: You, the Buyer, don’t usually pay your real estate agent anything.)

Now is a good time to research how you will pay for your Arizona home. Unless you are paying in all cash and don’t need a loan, you may be able to get a loan from an Arizona lender.

Next: How to find your loan

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦