"Did They Really Get $1,500 a Month for That?"

Rentals on MLS

One of the quirks of following rentals on MLS -- available since Sept. 1 -- is that there's no way to track the difference between what landlords are asking, and what they're actually accepting.

Over on the "for sale" side of MLS, Realtors and appraisers alike know to skip homes that are "Active," and instead only scrutinize actual, closed sales (called "Comp's," or "Comparable Sold Properties").

At least so far with rentals, there's no analogous way to do that.

P.S.: after six weeks, the local MLS now has over 300 rentals listed -- a big jump, but still a fraction of what Craig's List has, and a drop in the bucket compared to the 28,000-plus active "for sale" properties on MLS.