Most Important Cities/Counties in Hampton Roads for Multiple MLS
Updated: Sep 7
Buyers and sellers can both benefit greatly from access to more than 1 MLS, but that's especially true in areas of high crossover MLS, where only 1 MLS doesn't cover >95% of the residential properties in the area. As a seller, having access to more than one MLS can reap great rewards, with the higher the number of MLS with the greatest amount of market share in your area reaping the greatest rewards. That's especially true in areas of high crossover MLS. Likewise, buyers looking for a property in areas of crossover MLS work best with agents with access to not just the primary MLS of that city/county, but all of the most dominant MLS that make up the listings of that area.
Why it's Important for Sellers
As I shared about in the seller section of my article on MLS: "The higher the exposure of a property in marketing, the more action a home will tend to get with showings, the higher the number of offers, and the higher a home will sell for statistically. Did you know that 29% of buyers found the home they purchased through their agent (NAR)? Because of that, which MLS your home is going to be listed on is a critical question for sellers looking to list the property. That's especially true in areas of high crossover where a single MLS isn't dominant. In my research, neither Gloucester County nor James City County/Williamsburg had more than 51% of listing sales in a single MLS. When I interviewed a former agent and won the listing, one of the top reasons why he stated he chose me was due to me being in more than 1 MLS. The higher end of the home, the more MLS it will tend to be on as part of a superior marketing package more common to experienced agents than to new agents since most new agents only start with 1 MLS & many agents remain with only 1 throughout their career."
Benefits to Buyers
As I share about on the same article on MLS: "Many buyers are unaware of how much better a search feed on MLS can be vs. a search on public websites common to buyers like Zillow... By establishing a feed with a buyer's agent, you can weed out many of the properties that you wouldn't be able to on public websites, saving you tremendous time and hassle from not needing to look through a number of properties that you wouldn't want. A small number of buyer's agents, myself included, have spent hours on search templates that they can reproduce with a few clicks to start as a baseline for the modifications on your search." Unlike most sellers using typical listing agreements (i.e. exclusive right to sell), buyers have an advantage in that 2 or more agents is more feasible representing more then 1 MLS (using non-exclusive buyer brokerage agreements) in the event that they aren't able to find a single agent that can accomodate all the MLS that they need to have covered.
What Cities/Counties In Hampton Roads Have High Crossover MLS?
Here are the cities/counties in SE VA with highest levels of crossover MLS, with the top 1 being the area of most crossover & unmentioned cities having >95% coverage by a single MLS. Below I'll list the % I pulled if only listing on 1 MLS (including the combined data co-op of CBRAR/CVR if mentioned):
Williamsburg & James City County: 44.81% REIN
Louisa: 49.51% CAAR
Gloucester County: 50.22% REIN
Richmond County: 53.85% Northern Neck
Emporia 55%: Roanoke Valley (Low data set)
Surry County: 55.56% REIN
Mathews County: 55.95% co-op combined CVR/CBRAR
Middlesex County: 60.65% co-op combined CVR/CBRAR
Lancaster County: 61.41% Northern Neck
New Kenty County: 65.59% co-op combined CVR/CBRAR
York County: 69.62% REIN
Charles City County: 72% co-op combined CVR/CBRAR
Northumberland County: 75.95%
Amelia County: 80% (low data set) CVR
Poquoson: 80.75% REIN
Newport News: 82.49% REIN
King William County: 82.69% co-op combined CVR/CBRAR
Hampton: 86.47% REIN
Westmoreland County: 88.51% Northern Neck
Southampton: 93.62% REIN
Here some of those are presented graphically out of a search of 5 surrounding VA MLS for Hampton Roads (full list in link):
If considering Charles City, King William, Mathews, Middlesex, and New Kent, which some would consider part of Hampton Roads while others wouldn't, each of those locations are also areas of high crossover, with Mathews having only 56% of listings present between CVR & CBAR combined when I checked. Likewise, those 2 MLS made up 61% for Middlesex, 66% for New Kent, 72% for Charles City County, & 83% for King William.
Related:
Which Multiple Listing Service(s) Are Needed to List in SE VA?
Multiple Listing Service Details
Most Important Cities/Counties in Hampton Roads for Multiple MLS