Now Listing Homes in Austin AND Central Texas MLS Systems
As the Austin Metro area continues to expand and merge with surrounding regions such as San Antonio/New Braunfels to the south, Temple/Killeen to the north, the Highland Lakes to the west, and the formerly rural areas to the east, Realtor service areas are also starting to converge.
Gone are the days when most Austin Metro jobs were located in central Austin, and buyers placed a high ‘commuter premium’ on properties closest to downtown. Jobs are now spread across the metro area, with Dell’s headquarters in Round Rock, Tesla’s new factory in eastern Travis County, and Samsung’s facility in Taylor. Coupled with the rise of remote and hybrid work, many clients now ask us to consider houses beyond the traditional Austin metro area.
Recently, we’ve had clients with jobs in Williamson County or primarily working from home interested in houses not only in Travis and Williamson Counties but also in Bell County, where you often get more house for your money. Similarly, clients south of Austin typically don’t differentiate between Kyle, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and even Canyon Lake.
The challenge for Realtors is that when they join a Board of Realtors, they gain access to only a single Multiple Listing Service (MLS) out of the 20+ that exist in Texas. This means they cannot access detailed property information or open lockboxes from any other MLS systems beyond the one they’re members of.
There are two main MLS systems in Central Texas: the Austin MLS with 18,000+ members, and the Central Texas MLS with 7,700+ members (Temple/Killeen/New Braunfels/surrounding Austin counties).
As the lines between these MLS systems blur, it creates issues for home sellers in Williamson, Hays, and outlying areas of Travis County. Realtors might have interested clients but lack MLS and lockbox access to certain areas. For example, Central Texas MLS members can access the MLS and open lockboxes for most houses in Salado but very few in Jarrell less than 10 miles away and similarly can show most properties in New Braunfels but not many San Marcos.
Because the Laurie Flood Team has many home sellers outside of central Austin and wants to ensure their homes get the most exposure possible, we now list ALL our homes for sale in BOTH the Austin and Central Texas MLS systems. This allows ALL Realtors in both systems to search, view, and access our properties and lockboxes.
Whether it’s premium Showcase Listings on Zillow, home highlight ads in Community Impact, social media ad campaigns, or listings in MULTIPLE MLS systems, the Laurie Flood Team is dedicated to maximizing exposure for our clients’ properties. More exposure leads to increased buyer interest, faster sales, and higher sales prices.
