The Investor’s Guide to Finding an Investment Property on Alaska MLS Listings

As a real estate investor, if you’ve been thinking about investing in Alaska MLS listings, we’ve created this comprehensive guide for you.

Table of Contents

1. What Is MLS?
2. Why Is MLS Important?
3. More Reasons to Access Alaska MLS Listings
4. Why Invest in the Alaska Real Estate Market?
5. Finding Alaska MLS Listings Using Mashvisor
6. Bottom Line

Traditionally, real estate investors used to trust their instincts and invest in areas they thought would be profitable or lucrative. After deciding on the location, they’d drive through different neighborhoods looking for “for sale” signs. As you can tell, the entire process ended up consuming a lot of time and money.

With the advent of technology, it is no longer necessary. Real estate investors can access various tools and analytics to carry out market analysis so they can select the best markets to invest in. Afterward, they can search for and find profitable investment properties on various platforms. The process saves them time and money.

In today’s post, we’re going to look at the process of investing in MLS listings in Alaska and some tips to make the process smooth.

Let’s start with the basics.

What Is MLS?

MLS, or Multiple Listing Service,  is a centralized real estate database that stores property listings for every housing market. The service was started by cooperating real estate brokers and agents who maintain the database to streamline the home selling and buying process. 

Brokers access MLS to see each other’s property listings with the aim of connecting home sellers to buyers. With the arrangement, both the listing and selling brokers gain from merging their information and sharing the commission check.

Note that the MLS isn’t a single standalone system. It’s a collection of services and systems that store information about property listings. There are currently about 800 listed MLS available. Each regional housing market maintains its own MLS.

While most people may assume that the tool is relatively new, they’re wrong. Its roots date back to the late 1800s. Brokers back then would share their listings with other brokers with the hopes of selling the properties faster. They slowly realized this “networking” method worked and decided to create a system to share such information; thus, MLS was born.

Why Is MLS Important? 

The most apparent benefit of MLS is that it helps brokers and agents sell properties faster. It also makes it easier for them to help buyers find the right property to invest in. Since brokers and agents can see each other’s listings on the service, they can widen the reach of their listings. 

It is beneficial for them since they’ll not only share listings information but also split the commission check. The listing broker includes the commission details in the MLS listing for other cooperating brokers to see.

MLS benefits property sellers by giving them a wider reach and exposure for their property. They can spend a shorter time in the market since the brokers and agents consolidate the information. 

On the other hand, buyers can enjoy the convenience of working with a single agent while getting access to a wide selection of property listings from the MLS database. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), more than 50% of all home buyers use the MLS to search for their ideal home. Without Alaska MLS listings, you can only see listings selected for you by your agent.

Related: How to Find MLS Listings Near Me Without a Realtor

More Reasons to Access Alaska MLS Listings

If you’re still not convinced that the MLS database is beneficial, let’s look at the buyer-specific benefits of accessing MLS listings.

Extensive Data

In the real estate investing world, it’s a publicly accepted fact that the more the data you use to base your investment decision, the better. MLS capitalizes on the need for updated data.

MLS gives you access to massive amounts of data. It is the data you’ll need to carry out property analysis and also run real estate comps. Once you’ve done the calculations, you can pick the best investment property you can find on Alaska MLS listings.

If you want to access Alaska MLS listings, you must work with an MLS real estate broker who’ll provide you with the data you need.

Data Accuracy

Extensive data wouldn’t be useful if it’s not reliable. MLS isn’t only known for the massive amounts of data but also its quality.

The MLS database is considered one of the most accurate real estate platforms when it comes to property details. It is primarily due to the fact that there are various rules and guidelines in place for brokers and agents to maintain a high standard of accuracy and quality for every property data they submit.

The rules and guidelines include:

• Accuracy. The data submitted to the database must be accurate, from the property size to its precise location. Agents and brokers also must be clear on the condition of the property.
• Time. New listings must be added to the MLS database, i.e., Alaska MLS listings, within a specific period. The duration stipulated is 24-48 hours after signing the listing agreement with the property owner. Agents who fail to follow the guideline are fined.
• Property Photos. In today’s digital age, property photos are becoming an essential aspect of property listings. MLS brokers and agents must provide adequate high-quality photos for every listing they add. 

With the above rules and fines that are imposed on users who break the rules, brokers and agents help maintain the standard of accuracy and quality that MLS stands for.

Why Invest in the Alaska Real Estate Market?

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s look at the Alaska housing market and why you should invest in Alaska real estate MLS listings.

Before investing in any real estate market, you need to consider several factors. Some of the primary concerns include property values, housing supply, and the neighborhood’s safety ratings. If you want to raise your kids in the home, you also need to consider the quality and size of schools in the neighborhood.

Also, preference varies between investors. Some investors love quiet neighborhoods away from the hustle and bustle of the city, while others want to be closer to the action. Other factors to consider include local economic stability, availability of job opportunities, and recreational facilities. 

Here’s an overview of the Alaska housing market from Mashvisor’s latest data:

• Median Property Price: $456,442
• Average Price per Square Foot: $31,062
• Days on Market: 169
• Traditional Rental Income: $1,508
• Traditional Cash on Cash Return: 2.14%
• Traditional Cap Rate: 2.21%
• Airbnb Rental Income: $3,527
• Airbnb Cash on Cash Return: 5.51%
• Airbnb Cap Rate: 5.66%
• Airbnb Daily Rate: $155
• Airbnb Occupancy Rate: 64%
• Walk Score: 29

That said, let’s look at some reasons why you should invest in Alaska MLS listings:

Diverse Housing Supply

One of the most unique things about the Alaska housing market is that you can find anything you’re looking for in plenty. The housing market is stable in many parts of the state. You’re given the option of buying in rural and secluded areas or urban places in the state.

Similarly, there are small, moderate, and large communities where you can find properties of all sizes, shapes, and price ranges. If you prefer building your own home from scratch, there’s also plenty of land for sale in Alaska for development.

Related: Where Is Airbnb Hosting Profitable in the 2022 US Housing Market?

Job Opportunities

The job market is one of the most vital factors for people looking to move to a new state. Luckily, the job market in Alaska is stable. Different parts of the state offer diverse kinds of jobs.

For example, tourism, petroleum, fishing, and various other sectors are strong and require many workers. The industry depends on the part of Alaska you want to invest in. While job opportunities can be a bit tricky in the remote areas of Alaska, the economy, in general, is thriving.

Plenty of Activities

When planning to invest in Alaska land for sale, you want to invest in an area where you or your tenants can access entertainment and leisure activities. The metropolitan areas of Alaska provide you with many choices, such as concerts, movies, bowling, and many other fun activities.

You can hike in many places in Alaska during the warm weather and also engage in other activities during the winter. You’ll never be short of activities to engage in Alaska unless you decide to go off-grid yourself.

Finding Alaska MLS Listings Using Mashvisor

If you’ve already made up your mind to invest in MLS Alaska listings, we can now look at how you can find the listings. 

Despite all the benefits that you stand to enjoy from accessing the MLS database, it’s highly unlikely that you might not access it yourself. It is because access to the database is limited to brokers and realtors. Only brokers who can add listings to the database can access it.

Since you can’t access it directly, you can choose to hire a broker with access and pay a fee for their service. If that’s not an option for you, then your answer lies in Mashvisor.

Before we can look at Mashvisor tools for MLS, make sure you book your demo today and see how you can use the tools.

MLS and Mashvisor

For starters, Mashvisor is an online real estate platform that provides data to help investors make smart investment decisions. Mashvisor’s data is accurate and reliable since the platform pulls the data from reliable sources, such as Airbnb, Zillow, and MLS itself.

Unlike other popular real estate platforms, Mashvisor doesn’t only provide you with data but also gives you analytics based on the data. The platform employs machine learning and AI algorithms that use the gathered data to make market and property forecasts.

Once you get data from the MLS through your broker, you need to dig the internet for more data, such as traditional and Airbnb rental rates, as well as Airbnb occupancy rate data. Mashvisor provides you with all this data.

If you’re looking to conduct investment analysis before purchasing Alaska MLS listings, then Mashvisor is your one-stop-shop.

What tools should you expect to find on Mashvisor?

Property Finder

Mashvisor’s Property Finder comes in handy since you can’t access MLS listings Alaska yourself. As the name suggests, the tool allows investors to search for properties that are listed on MLS.

Most online real estate marketplaces lack adequate data and search features to allow you to find profitable investment properties with ease. Our Property Finder tool was designed with both newbie and experienced real estate investors in mind. 

The tool comes with a lot of options to customize your property search and filters to find properties that match your criteria, such as location, distance, budget, rental strategy, type of property, and number of bedrooms/bathrooms. 

Property Marketplace

Mashvisor’s Property Marketplace helps property buyers find listed properties for sale not only on MLS but also off-market properties listed by the owners. The tool is accessible to subscribers of the Standard Plan and up.

Just like the Property Finder tool, you can use various features to find properties that match your requirements, such as property type, price, size, location, and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.

Rental Property Calculator

With all the data provided, you need to calculate a property’s potential to establish its profitability. It is where the Rental Property Calculator comes in. The tool provides you with a property’s expected rate of return metrics, such as cash on cash return and cap rate.

Unlike other property calculators you can find online, our property calculator provides you with metrics for both traditional and Airbnb rental strategies. It is to help you choose a profitable strategy that matches your goals.

Since our tool is interactive, you can enter different numbers for financing and expected property expenses to see how they can affect your returns.

Related: What Is a Good Cash on Cash Return?

Bottom Line

As you can see, investing in Alaska MLS listings can be a profitable opportunity. The state boasts a stable economy, plenty of housing supply, and numerous job opportunities. However, there’s one problem; you can’t access MLS listings unless you’re a licensed realtor.

Here is where Mashvisor comes in. Our platform gives you sufficient data and analytics to help you make smart investment decisions.

Sign up to our platform today and start your journey to making successful real estate investments.