Located north of the Bay Area and San Francisco, Santa Rosa offers a variety of diverse activities for tourists and residents alike. For those who enjoy the outdoors, there are 16 nearby golf courses, balloon rides, bicycle treks and river activities. If you decide to stay inside but would still like to see the area, there are over 200 local wineries.
Whether you are buying or selling a home, you will want to understand the Santa Rosa MLS listings. Depending on your needs, you can use the IDX or VOW types of listings.
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| Population 147,595 | Median Age 36.2 yrs | Household Size: 2.57 |
| Avg Home Value: $245,000 | July High: 82.5°F | January Low: 39.3°F |
Santa Rosa MLS Listings
Santa Rosa is small by California standards. With a population of 150,000, Santa Rosa avoids the huge populations of other California cities, but still offers all the benefits of a large city. Whether you like art, food, theater, recreation or wine, you will enjoy Santa Rosa. If you want to buy or sell a home in this quasi-big city, you will need to use the Santa Rosa MLS listings.
The most popular form of listing is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Agents collect their listings together so they can use each other’s resources and have a better chance of buying or selling a home. 80 percent of the homes sold are sold through the MLS.
The two kinds of listings are IDX and VOW. IDX stands for Internet Data Exchange. IDX listings are open to anyone to search. Unfortunately, they are limited. They only include certain types of data. The purpose of an IDX is to encourage you to contact the agent listing the property you are interested in. Still, you don’t have to identify yourself in anyway. If you are trying to avoid being placed on a mailing list, anonymity can be beneficial.
VOW stands for Virtual Office Web site. A VOW requires the user to register. The user then has access to all properties listed and all the details about those properties. Buyers become a client of that real estate agency. If you want excellent service and resources, you will want to use a VOW.
Don’t forget the independent listings. If you want to by a For Sale by Owner home, you will need to find other listings, such as newspapers, real estate magazines, or any of several FSBO Internet sites.
Just remember that which ever listing you choose, you need to view the property before you buy it.
By Ruth Sanderson
A REALTOR® is a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®