"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.

3,257* to 11

Rentals on MLS

No, that's not the odds of someone on Wall Street actually being charged for financial wrongdoing the last couple years.

It's the number of rental properties on Craig's List (*I approximated) vs. rental properties on MLS.

Look for that gap to close in the weeks and months ahead (today was Day #1 for MLS rentals).

P.S.: when it comes to For Sale properties, MLS has Craig's List beat hands down, 24,000-plus to perhaps 1,000 or so. And the MLS listings are much more informative.