How to Find Retirement Homes for Sale on the MLS

Can you spot the $207,744 difference between these identical homes?

Financing is the difference!

Get the details in The 62+ Loan Homebuyers Guide.

55places Mortgage is a joint venture between Mutual of Omaha Mortgage and 55places.com.
Details here.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get Weekly Updates

I agree that 55places and its affiliates, partner providers or agents may call, text, or email me about my inquiry, which may be made with automated means. I understand that my consent is not a prerequisite for buying a property. I may revoke my consent at any time by contacting optout@55places.com. Message/data rates may apply. I also agree to 55places.com’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

When searching for the perfect retirement home, you\'ll find the MLS.
Retirement MLS 55places.com
When searching for the perfect retirement home, you’ll find the MLS.

Several prospective homebuyers have never heard of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) but have definitely used one.

So what is the MLS exactly? Let’s say you want to sell your home. You contact a real estate broker who comes to your home, takes a look around, jots down some notes, and takes lots of photos. The agent will then go back to their office, upload the photos, and write a description of your home. All that information is placed into a system that includes other homes for sale in your area. That system is the MLS.

Every location has a specific MLS. The Garden State MLS, for example, covers several counties in northern New Jersey, while swaths of southern New Jersey are covered by South Jersey Shore Regional MLS. The nation’s largest MLS is in Southern California, the California Regional MLS, which has over 71,000 members.

Only licensed real estate brokers can enter a listing into an MLS. That listing then becomes a part of the Internet Data Exchange (IDX). Whenever you click on the Homes for Sale tab on 55places.com, the list of homes for sale that appears comes from the IDX, made possible by our agents’ membership with their local MLS.

When entering a home in the MLS, agents have to fill out specific fields indicating details about the property, community, and general area. By putting this information in the MLS, virtually anything you would need to know about the property, from the age of the home to sewage type, becomes publicly available, making the MLS vital in your search for a new home.

So how can you leverage the MLS when searching for the perfect community?

Each individual MLS has their own website, each with various functionalities. In the Garden State MLS, for instance, you can filter by area, property type, price, bedrooms, and bathrooms. The Long Island MLS has a similar search function but also allows you to filter for active adult communities, allowing you to narrow your search even further.

The best part is that we’ve already done all this work for you. With 55places.com, you can not only search via state, area, city, home type, and price, you can narrow your search further by selecting communities with specific amenities. Can’t live without a golf course or want to try your hand at woodworking? Our search function allows you to find communities with those amenities you need to find your perfect retirement community.

Although searching with the MLS is a fine approach to finding your 55+ community, it’s also restricted in that it only shows homes that have sold or are currently active. This means that if no homes have sold recently or are currently active in that community, you are not going to find it listed in the MLS. At 55places.com, you can discover communities no matter what the status of the homes within the community are.

Once you do find the right community, the MLS is a valuable tool for finding the right home in that neighborhood. In addition to the description and the photos, each listing has fields specifying details about the home. These can range from room dimensions, HOA fees, and the appliances that are included in the home.

Can you spot the $207,744 difference between these identical homes?

Financing is the difference!

Get the details in The 62+ Loan Homebuyers Guide.

55places Mortgage is a joint venture between Mutual of Omaha Mortgage and 55places.com.
Details here.

We're here to help! (800) 928-2055

Call us to speak with a customer service representative.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get Weekly Updates

I agree that 55places and its affiliates, partner providers or agents may call, text, or email me about my inquiry, which may be made with automated means. I understand that my consent is not a prerequisite for buying a property. I may revoke my consent at any time by contacting optout@55places.com. Message/data rates may apply. I also agree to 55places.com’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

A 55+ woman playing on the beach with her dog in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Dog-Friendly Retirement Near Myrtle Beach: Top 55+ Communities With Dog Parks

We rounded up the active adult communities with dog parks in the Myrtle Beach-Wilmington area to help start your search for the best neighborhood to call home. Keep reading to discover more of the best pet-friendly communities, attractions, and activities near Myrtle Beach, SC and Wilmington, NC.

55places News banner over a smiling 55+ couple shaking hands with a real estate agent.

Real Estate Commission Changes: What It Means for 55+ Homebuyers and Sellers

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently wrapped up some big lawsuits accusing them and brokerages of keeping real estate commissions sky-high. But how (if at all) will it change the process for 55+ homebuyers and sellers? 55places is here to give you a complete picture of the changes on the horizon.

About 55places

We’re changing the way people 55 and older are searching for their perfect next place. With a national network of hand-selected real estate experts, plus comprehensive information, unbiased content, and on-the-go insight about thousands of communities across the country, we’re a trusted resource paving the way from here to home. Whether you’re interested in a low-maintenance single-level residence, an active lifestyle or age-qualified community, an intimate enclave, or anything in between, we can help you make your next move the best one yet.

Scroll to Top