List my house on MLS®: 4 steps, from $69.99

How to list your house on MLS® in 4 steps

Listing takes four steps, all from your account. You choose a plan, give us the details the MLS® System asks for, and we enter the listing; from then on, showing requests and calls come to you. Nothing goes to the board until your photo ID, proof of ownership and signature are in, and the guided form flags anything missing.

1. Choose a plan and pay. It takes a few minutes, and your account is created for you.
2. Add your house's details, photos and ID, then sign. A guided form asks for what the MLS® System needs, and an assistant can help with any field you're unsure of.
3. We enter your house on the MLS® System. It's sent on to realtor.ca, and we email you your MLS® number when it's live.
4. Buyers and their agents contact you. You confirm showings, answer questions and receive offers directly.

Can I put my own house on MLS®?

Not on your own. The MLS® System is run by the real estate boards, and only a registered brokerage or a REALTOR® member can enter a listing. What you can do is hire a brokerage just to post it, for a set fee instead of a commission. That's called a flat fee listing or a mere posting.

realtor.ca works the same way: it's run by the Canadian Real Estate Association and shows listings from the boards' MLS® Systems, so a house gets there through a brokerage or not at all. In Ontario, every brokerage and salesperson must be registered with RECO; you can check any name in RECO's public register before you pay.

Your house gets the same MLS® listing and the same spot on realtor.ca as one listed by a full-service agent. The difference is who does the selling: you answer buyers, book showings and negotiate the offer yourself, with a real estate lawyer for the paperwork.

This is called a mere posting, and it's how most owners list without a listing agent.

What you need to list your house on MLS®

Have five things ready before you start: photo ID for every owner, proof that you own the house, the facts buyers' agents search by, your asking price with what you'll offer a buyer's agent, and photos. Room measurements matter more than most sellers expect: the MLS® form asks for each room's size, and agents filter by them.

• Photo ID for each owner, not expired: a driver's licence, a Canadian or foreign passport, a provincial photo card, a PR card, a secure Status card or a photo citizenship card.
• Proof you own the house: a property tax bill, an MPAC notice, the deed or transfer, a mortgage statement or a utility bill in the owners' names.
• The details buyers' agents look for: lot size, approximate square footage, rooms and their sizes, annual property tax, heating, parking and when you can give possession.
• Your asking price, and what you'll offer a buyer's agent (a percentage or a flat amount).
• Up to 40 photos. Bright, wide and level photos of every main room and the outside get more clicks. A phone works; a photographer is optional.

How much does it cost to list a house on MLS®?

With a flat fee, the cost doesn't depend on your price: $69.99 a month, $99.99 for 2 months, $119.99 for 3 months, $149.99 for 6 months, or $239.99 for MAX, which renews free until your house is sold. With the code FREEUPGRADE, each fixed-term plan comes with the next plan up free, so 6 months costs $119.99.

Tax: Ontario listings have 13% HST added. realtor.ca itself charges sellers nothing; what you pay for is the brokerage that enters the listing and keeps it current.

The other cost is the commission you offer a buyer's agent. You set it when you list, and it's only paid if that agent's buyer buys your house. A full-service listing agent's own commission is on top of that, which is the part a flat fee replaces. Add your lawyer's fee for closing, and a photographer or stager if you want one; neither is required.

Compare that with how much realtors charge in Ontario: usually 4–5% of the price plus HST.

Where your listing appears

Your house goes on the MLS® System through PropTx, which feeds 14 Ontario boards including Toronto (TRREB), Ottawa, London, Niagara and Oakville-Milton. From there it's sent to realtor.ca automatically, usually within a few hours of going live (more on how to list on realtor.ca).

Agents see it in their board system and in the showing system they book through, which is where most buyers' agents find houses for their clients. Public sites fed by the MLS® System typically pick it up next: HouseSigma, Zolo, Wahi, Property.ca, Condos.ca and others. We say typically because each site decides what to show and when; weak photos or a thin description can keep a listing off some of them, and a few take several days. You can also share the realtor.ca link yourself on Facebook, Kijiji or with neighbours. The listing strip further down this page shows houses that went through exactly this route.

After your house is on MLS®

Once your house is live, the listing works like any other on the MLS® System and realtor.ca: agents request showings, buyers ask questions, and offers come to you. You manage all of it from your account, and we make the board updates when something changes. Here's what to expect, in the order it usually happens.

Showings: buyer agents book through the showing system, and each request comes to you to confirm or move. Have the house ready and decide whether you'll stay or step out.

Open houses: add one from your account and it goes on the MLS® and realtor.ca, usually within a few hours. You host it yourself.

Offers: offers are made out to you and come to you directly. You can accept, sign back with changes, or decline. A real estate lawyer can review an offer before you sign, and you'll need one to close anyway.

Conditional and sold: when you accept an offer with conditions (financing or an inspection, for example), tell us from your account and the listing shows it. Once the conditions are met, tell us it's sold and we update the MLS® System.

Changes: price drops, new photos and description changes are requested from your account while you're listed.

Closing: once the deal is firm, your lawyer takes over: the title search, the statement of adjustments, the mortgage discharge and the keys on closing day. The buyer's deposit is held in trust until then.

Is listing your house yourself right for you?

It suits sellers who know roughly what their house is worth, can be reached during the day, and are comfortable reading an offer with a lawyer's help. Check recent sold prices on your street on HouseSigma or a similar site before you set your price; bright daylight photos of a tidy house do most of the marketing.

It's a harder fit if you can't be there for showings, you'd rather someone else negotiated, or you need advice on pricing and staging. In that case a full-service agent may be worth the commission.

Somewhere in between? Many sellers list for a flat fee and pay a photographer, a stager or a lawyer for the parts they don't want to do themselves. That still costs far less than a listing commission, and the calculator above shows the difference for your price.

Still deciding? We compare the ways to sell by owner in Ontario, from a lawn sign or Kijiji ad to a full-service agent.

Renting it out instead? Here's how to list a rental on MLS®: the same four steps, with the rent, what's included and the move-in date in place of the price.

Not a house? Condos, townhouses and land use the same route; see MLS® without a realtor in Canada.

Questions

What's included

• Your house on the MLS® System through PropTx, which feeds 14 Ontario boards, including Toronto (TRREB), Ottawa, London, Niagara and Oakville-Milton
• Your house on realtor.ca, typically followed by MLS®-fed sites such as HouseSigma, Zolo and Condos.ca
• Up to 40 photos, your description, your price and the full property details
• Showing requests from buyer agents sent straight to you to confirm, and realtor.ca inquiries forwarded to you
• Price, photo and detail changes while you're listed, plus the conditional and sold updates

Flat fee MLS® prices

Plus 13% HST. The monthly plan can be cancelled any time.

What you keep by listing your house yourself

Enter your asking price to compare a typical listing agent's commission with a flat fee from $69.99 a month. The commission you offer a buyer's agent is separate: you set it when you list, and it's only paid if that agent's buyer buys your house, so the saving is the listing side.

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