MLS Mistakes That Hide Your Listings, and How to Show Up in AI Home Searches

When I tell a room full of agents that most of them are making mistakes in the MLS, I get some looks. "Mike, I've been licensed 27 years. You're not going to tell me how to use the MLS."

But I promise you, most of us are making at least one of these mistakes, both in how we input listings and how we set up buyer searches. I cover them in a continuing education class I teach on listing secrets. Every one of them costs sellers exposure, and they're all easy to fix.

Leaving square footage blank

Go into your MLS right now and you'll find listings with no square footage. Occasionally there's a reason, but usually it's an oversight.

Here's the problem. If you have a 2,200 square foot house and leave the field blank, it reads as zero. A buyer searching for 2,000 square feet or more will never see it.

The MLS knows this happens, which is why there's an "include zero square feet" option when you set up searches. I check it on every buyer search, because I know other agents are leaving the field empty.

Using the wrong city

If I save you from this one mistake today, it's worth reading the whole post.

A lot of agents copy the city straight from tax records. Tax records often list the mailing city, not the actual municipality. I once set up a search for Euclid and got 29 matches. When I searched the same area by school district, I found properties that were clearly in Euclid, Euclid schools and all, but listed as Cleveland. Anyone searching by city would never see them.

When you input a listing, make sure the city field reflects the actual municipality. And when you set up buyer searches, search by school district, even if your buyers don't care about schools. It catches the listings other agents entered wrong.

Skipping fields nobody thinks about

Every field in the MLS can be a search filter. Leave it blank, and your listing drops out of any search that uses it.

Take the direction the home faces. I'd bet most agents don't know that field exists. But some buyers care a lot, whether for morning light or personal preference. If your listing faces the direction they want and you left it blank, it doesn't show up.

Get bedrooms and bathrooms exactly right too. Is it two full baths, or one and a half? Buyers filter on this constantly. Fill in every field, and fill it in correctly.

Setting up buyer searches that miss listings

Pricing affects this too. A buyer says they're pre-approved for $350,000, so you set a search from $300,000 to $400,000. You just missed every listing priced at $299,900.

Account for other agents' pricing habits and widen the range a little: $295,000 to $405,000 or $410,000. Include statuses like coming soon so your buyers see those homes early. Small adjustments like these show buyers more homes.

Floor plans aren't optional anymore

I'm a little embarrassed to admit I only recently started using floor plans on every listing. What changed my mind was a showing. The buyers were standing inside the house, and they pulled out their phones and asked, "Where's the floor plan?" They wanted to see room dimensions and how the spaces connected.

Buyers use floor plans to decide whether a home is worth seeing at all. We use CubiCasa, which is free for us if we don't need it the same day. If you're not including floor plans, start now.

And please get professional photos. Photographers here charge as little as $100 to $150. On a recent million-dollar listing, I spent about $1,300 on a package with two video tours and floor plans. If you absolutely must use your phone, at least turn it sideways.

AI is changing how buyers search

Buyers aren't just using filters anymore. They're having conversations. ChatGPT now works with Zillow, and AI tools can search Zillow, Redfin, brokerage sites, and more. A buyer might type something like, "Show me homes in Macedonia under $400,000 with first floor laundry, a two-car garage, and easy freeway access."

AI can't match what you never described. If it's not in your remarks, your listing can't come up in that search.

Write remarks people actually search for

Compare these:

• Weak: "Beautiful move-in ready home in a great location. This one won't last!"
• Strong: "One floor living ranch with two bedrooms, first floor laundry, and an attached two-car garage."
• Weak: "This stunning property has everything: space, updates, convenience, and charm."
• Strong: "Four-bedroom colonial with a first floor office and a kitchen renovated in 2024."

Nobody asks AI to "show me homes that won't last." They ask for renovated kitchens, first floor offices, and specific features. If someone asks ChatGPT to find homes in Solon with renovated kitchens and your remarks say "kitchen renovated in 2024," you have a chance of showing up.

Small fixes, more exposure

None of this is complicated. It's just easy to skip. But every blank field, wrong city, and vague sentence hides a listing from buyers who would have wanted it. Your sellers are counting on you to get their home in front of everyone who might buy it.

If you want to sharpen your skills with other agents, our team runs roleplay on Zoom every Saturday morning at 8:30 Eastern. Email me at mike@21mike.com and I'll add you to the invite.

Want to see the full class? Watch my CE class on top listing secrets.

Mike Ferrante
The Mike Team at LPT Realty
www.21mike.com
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+1 (216) 373-7727