How does MLS work? Do brokers in Manhattan list on it, or have access to any MLS listings?

You can search the discussions for previous threads on this topic. But as a quick answer: in much of Queens and outside the boroughs, you can access most of what appears on the MLS using realtor.com. It's a pretty unified system, and most brokers outside the city can show you any listing on the MLS.

And then there's New York City. We have a few different listing services, and not all brokers subscribe to all of them. Some subscribe to more than one, some to none at all. So how do you get to see everything that's available in your chosen neighborhood? When I work with buyers I start with Streeteasy just to get a sense of what the buyer is looking for (I should use my professional account, but I prefer SE's elegant system). But since only a fraction of available properties are listed here, I take my buyer's requirements and use them to search everything at my disposal, including craigslist, the New York Times, small local brokers' websites, storefront windows, "for sale" signs tacked up on buildings. Most of this information is available to the public, but my clients tend not to have the time to plow through it all.

It would be lovely if everything were available on a single database, but that's just not so - especially here in balkanized Brooklyn, where mom & pop realtors see no need to share their listings with the wider world. REBNY is doing what it can, but in the meantime you have to do a lot of legwork to feel you've viewed the market exhaustively.

Tina
(Brooklyn broker)