Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:
The site makes available current listings of “foreclosures” and “new homes” for areas across the United States. It provides the "most complete and accurate information on properties actively for sale as well as those that have been sold, withdrawn or expired from the market." It also has a search function where you can find “home contractors” if you put in your location. "Viewed as the MLS gold standard for accurate property information."
Link:
General Website: http://www.mls.com/
Foreclosures: http://www.mls.com/ForeclosureListings/
New Homes: http://newhomes.move.com/mlscom
Date Inventory Completed: 5/22/2015
Screening
- Is the data collected opinion-based ?
- Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
- Is there data available for 2013?
- For Housing: Is the data collected at the property or housing unit level?
- Can we access the data by August 15th?
Purpose
What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?
MLS: “MLS.com is a free MLS search to find real estate MLS listings for sale by Realtors® and other realty professionals that are members of your local MLS Multiple Listing Service. MLS.com also features real estate news, common real estate questions and answers, real estate classes, mortgage information and a mortgage calculator.”
Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?
MLSs are private databases that are created, maintained and paid for by real estate professionals to help their clients buy and sell property.
Who else uses the data?
Those who have paid local membership fees or have IDX permissions and access.
Who do they sell the data to?
They do not sell the data.
Description
What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?
Homes for Sale
What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?
Only current data is available.
Timeliness
Is data collected and available periodically?
Yes, and various from local MLS. Only current data is available.
How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided?
It seems listings go up very quickly; once a home is put on the market, it would then be soon reflected on MLS as soon as local MLS enters data.
Selectivity
What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?
The data represents the entire United States.
Accessibility
How is the data accessed?
Online; through IDX
Is it open data?
No
Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?
No
Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?
Free to those who have paid local membership.
Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? No
Explanation: The dataset does not meet our needs because it does not store "archived data" itself and does not sell current data (only members to local MLS organizations can access data.) Indirect access is allowed to those who report data to MLS (local MLS organizations) or those who have IDX access.
This is the note the website gives you if you are trying to find "archived data": "MLS.com is independently owned and operated and is not affiliated with any of the over 900 local MLS systems. We offer the public access to multiple listings throughout the United States by providing advertising services for real estate agents and real estate related industries. You need to contact your local MLS to see if they have this information available for you."
See the MRIS, Center for Regional Analysis, and Williamsburg Area Association of Realtors pages for more information about the Lab's search for local MLS data.