What Is Flat Fee MLS?
Flat Fee MLS Explained Simply
The MLS, Multiple Listing Service, is the database all licensed Realtors use to find homes for their buyers. When your home is on the MLS it appears automatically on Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, and hundreds of other real estate websites. The MLS is where buyers find homes.
Traditionally, getting your home on the MLS meant hiring a full-service listing agent, usually for a percentage of the sale price, just for the listing side.
Flat fee MLS changes this. You pay a one-time flat fee to get your home listed on the MLS. You keep full control of your sale. You save the traditional listing commission. Putnam Realty Group offers flat fee MLS listings starting at $499, and every level includes pricing intelligence from recent local sales built from actual sales in your specific neighborhood.
What Makes Putnam Realty Group Different
Any discount broker can put your home on the MLS for a flat fee. What makes Putnam Realty Group different is pricing built from recorded sales in your own community, not national averages, plus a local package you can use with your own AI assistant at every service level.
Service Levels
Choose Your Level of Service
Every seller's situation is different. Choose the level that fits your comfort, timeline, and goals.
$499
Level 1 · Flat Fee + AI Assistant
Designed for experienced, hands-on sellers who want full MLS exposure, with local data you can work through with your own AI assistant at every step. You manage showings and communicate directly with buyers.
- MLS listing entry and all required documentation
- AI guidance with your own assistant: use ChatGPT, Claude or any AI you like with the local package I provide, which includes recorded sales in your community, your deadlines and step-by-step checklists
- ShowingTime, showing requests and confirmations sent directly to you
- One complimentary 15-minute agent consultation per transaction
- MLS Status: Limited Service · Seller Representation: Transaction Broker
Text Michael · 941-662-9941 $2,450
Level 2 · Flat Fee + AI + Agent Support
MLS exposure with professional structure, plus local market data for your own AI assistant and defined agent touchpoints at every stage. Your listing appears on the MLS under Putnam Realty Group as Transaction Broker.
- Everything in Level 1
- Local comparable sales lookup from your specific market
- Custom MLS property description drafted for your home
- Pricing consultation and in-depth market analysis
- Standard photography by Michael Putnam
- Drone still photography
- Offer review guidance: Michael walks you through key terms
- Critical contract deadlines loaded in Transaction Desk
- 5 defined agent touchpoints from listing through closing
Text Michael · 941-662-9941 5%
Level 3 · Full-Service Representation
Comprehensive, hands-on representation from listing through closing. You focus on your move: Michael handles everything else, backed by recorded local sales data from day one.
- Pricing strategy built from recorded local sales, with in-depth market analysis
- MLS listing, professional marketing, and full showing management
- Offer negotiation and contract strategy
- Full contract-to-close management
- Coordination with title, lender, and all parties
- 5% total (2.5% listing side · 2.5% buyer's agent)
Text Michael · 941-662-9941 📄 View full service menu with all details →
Optional Add-Ons
Additional Services Available
Available with Level 1 and Level 2. Level 2 includes standard photography and drone stills, drone video is an add-on for both levels.
| Service | Fee | Payment |
|---|
| Personal photography (standard) | $175 | Upfront |
| Drone photography, still photos | $175 | Upfront |
| Drone photography, video | $400 | Upfront |
| Agent-hosted open house (3 hours) | $175 | Per event |
| Professional Marketing Package | $775 | Upfront |
The Professional Marketing Package includes drone footage and short-form video for social media, Facebook Marketplace listing, Putnam Realty Group Facebook Page post, 3,000-member local Facebook Group feature, multiple Moving to SW Florida group posts, Nextdoor promotion, Instagram Stories and Highlights, Pinterest listing post, and TikTok on Putnam Realty Group.
How Much You Save
Real Savings at Every Price Point
Commissions are negotiable and vary. This table uses a 3% listing commission as an illustration, to show what the flat fee replaces at different prices.
| Sale Price | 3% Commission (illustration) | Level 1: $499 | Difference |
|---|
| $400,000 | $12,000 | $499 | $11,501 |
| $500,000 | $15,000 | $499 | $14,501 |
| $600,000 | $18,000 | $499 | $17,501 |
| $700,000 | $21,000 | $499 | $20,501 |
| $800,000 | $24,000 | $499 | $23,501 |
| $1,000,000 | $30,000 | $499 | $29,501 |
You Still Offer the Buyer's Agent Commission
Flat fee MLS does not eliminate the buyer's agent commission. Buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately from the MLS and is fully negotiable. Any examples shown here are illustrations only, not a market rate. The savings come from the listing side only, replacing a percentage listing commission with a flat fee. Against a 3% listing commission on a $600,000 home, that's $17,501, while you still cooperate fully with buyer's agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flat Fee MLS Questions Answered
Will buyer's agents show my home if it's a flat fee listing? +
Yes, as long as you offer a competitive buyer's agent commission in the MLS, buyer's agents will show your home. The listing side commission (what you pay your listing agent) is invisible to buyer's agents. Buyer-agent compensation is negotiated separately from the MLS and is fully negotiable. Any examples shown here are illustrations only, not a market rate. Your home appears in the same MLS searches as any other listing.
What is a Limited Service listing vs Full Service? +
A Limited Service listing means the listing broker's obligations are limited to placing the home on the MLS and providing basic documentation. The seller takes on more responsibility for communications, showings, and negotiations. A Full Service listing means the broker actively represents the seller through the entire transaction including negotiations, contract management, and closing coordination. Florida law requires that the service level be clearly disclosed in the listing agreement and the MLS, buyers and their agents know which type of listing they are dealing with.
What happens when I get an offer? +
With Level 1, offers come directly to you. You review them, negotiate directly with the buyer's agent, and sign contracts yourself. Your own AI assistant, working from the package I provide, can walk you through the key terms of any offer, and the decisions stay yours. With Level 2, Michael reviews the offer with you and explains every term, purchase price, contingencies, financing type, closing timeline, and any seller contributions, so you can make a confident, informed decision before responding.
Does flat fee MLS work in Sarasota County? +
Yes, flat fee MLS is fully legal and actively used in Sarasota County and throughout Florida. The Stellar MLS, which covers Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, and surrounding counties, accepts limited service listings. Your home appears on the same MLS as every other listed home. On Zillow, Realtor.com and most consumer sites, a flat-fee listing looks like any other; in the MLS itself, agents can see that it's a limited-service listing.
How do I know what to price my home at? +
Every Putnam Realty Group service level includes pricing from Florida Home Value AI, built from recorded sales in your own community. This gives you a data-driven starting point for pricing based on what homes like yours have actually sold for, not national averages or automated estimates that don't know your community. For neighborhoods where we have built a dedicated home value page, you can get your estimate right away and free at floridahomevalueai.com.