In the United States, the MLS began as a simple agreement among brokers to share property information and commissions. Today, no single authoritative MLS exists, but various regional systems operate under a common data standard provided by the Real Estate Standards Organization. The MLS system here not only facilitates the sharing of property information among brokers but also plays a crucial role in establishing commission rates and ensuring accurate property data.

In Canada, the MLS system has faced scrutiny and legal challenges, particularly concerning the control exerted by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The system's exclusivity and the impact on competition have been points of contention, leading to investigations and legal disputes.

Asia's real estate markets have also embraced the MLS concept. In India, the launch of a platform in 2015 marked a significant step in connecting real estate professionals through a unified system. The Philippines and Vietnam have developed MLS systems tailored to their market conditions, with Vietnam's system notably supporting both open agency and MLS listings.

In Australia, the absence of a general MLS system has led to the rise of private companies like Investorist, which offer specialized MLS services for specific property types. Similarly, realestate.com.au Pty. Ltd. operates a platform providing real-time reservations and transaction capabilities.

The Middle East has seen the emergence of MLS systems like Bahrain's mlsBH, a localized version that differs from traditional models by allowing direct submission of listings from various sources, not limited to brokers.

European real estate markets display varied adoption of MLS systems. While Italy boasts multiple MLSs with varying degrees of integration and regulation, the UK's MLS system is still in its infancy, with different software providers creating a fragmented landscape. The Czech Republic, by contrast, has not developed an MLS system due to the high demand and low surplus of properties.

Each country's adaptation of the MLS reflects its unique market conditions and regulatory environments. These systems have fundamentally altered the landscape of real estate transactions, bringing more transparency, efficiency, and cooperation among real estate professionals. As technology advances and markets evolve, the MLS systems worldwide continue to adapt, potentially leading to more unified and accessible global real estate markets.

A multiple listing service (MLS, also multiple listing system or multiple listings service) is an organization with a suite of services that real estate brokers use to establish contractual offers of cooperation and compensation (among brokers) and accumulate and disseminate information to enable appraisals. A multiple listing service's database and software is used by real estate brokers in real estate (or in other industries, for example, aircraft brokers^[1]), representing sellers under a listing contract to widely share information about properties with other brokers who may represent potential buyers or wish to work with a seller's broker in finding a buyer for the property or asset. The listing data stored in a multiple listing service's database is the proprietary information of the broker who has obtained a listing agreement with a property's seller.