Real estate agents can utilize the Multiple Listing Services (MLS) to share details about property listings. The idea is an old one and goes back to the late 1800s when local brokers got together to discuss available real estate properties. Commissions were provided as incentives for help in finalizing particular sales. The understood code of the real estate industry soon became an outgrowth of that old saying about “one hand washing the other” (even though in this circumstances, the hand means the property).