SARASOTA, Florida—(May 5, 2011)—Despite challenging times for Florida real estate, Michael Saunders & Company achieved one of the best overall sales performances of all real estate companies in the U.S. during 2010. This according to Real Trends, the Colorado-based real estate consulting and communications company, regarded as the leading source of analysis and information for the residential brokerage industry.
In just one year, the Sarasota-based real estate company moved from 88th to 60th in total dollar volume sales among all U.S. brokerage firms surveyed. In doing so, it turned in the 22nd most improved performance in the country, according to Real Trends’ annual ranking of the 500 largest brokers in the U.S., which has just been released.
The firm was also the 13th most improved U.S. brokerage in terms of total transaction sides closed; its ranking moving from 130th in 2009 to 88th in 2010. In addition, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, of which Michael Saunders & Company is the exclusive affiliate for Southwest Florida, was once again named the highest-producing national real estate network in terms of total sales for 2010 within this elite group of the top 500 companies.
“If you subtract from this year’s 22 most-improved companies the ones that achieved their dollar volume growth strictly through mergers and acquisitions, Michael Saunders & Company was actually the 5th most improved real estate company in the country,” said Steve Murray, founder and editor of Real Trends, in an interview. “Growth for Michael Saunders & Company was achieved strictly through increased sales in each of its established branch offices.”
Michael Saunders & Company finished 2010 with $1.432 billion in closed company sales, a 21% increase in dollar volume over 2009. Moreover, the 4,346 units sold company-wide during the year represented a 29% increase in year-over-year unit sales. In contrast, the overall market for properties in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte Counties rose by only .5% in dollar volume and 3% in unit sales.
“This extraordinary level of performance, coming as it did during one of the most challenging years in our market’s history, makes me doubly proud of our agents and management team,” said company founder and CEO Michael Saunders. “At the beginning of last year we knew that nothing less than a brilliant performance from each of them would be needed to achieve the exceptional results our clients and customers are due. That they so vastly outperformed our market, while making us one of the most-improved real estate companies in the U.S., is a huge tribute to their dedication, talent, teamwork and focus.”
Steve Murray, of Real Trends, agrees. “That Michael Saunders & Company did so well in such a difficult year is a testament to its outstanding agents and strong leadership team,” Murray added. “Over the last 25 years, we’ve consulted with over 2,000 brokerage companies in the United States and Canada. Michael and Drayton Saunders are two of the best examples of the kind of talent and leadership it takes to build a highly-successful real estate organization that can prosper in good markets and bad. Michael’s passion for the business has never diminished in the 25 years we’ve known her. There are few CEO’s like her.”
About Michael Saunders & Company
Now in its fourth decade of service to Southwest Florida, Michael Saunders & Company has grown from a single small office into a network of 24 full-service offices—with more than 500 professionally trained associates and 150 staff members. Powerful world-wide affiliations—including Who’s Who in Luxury Real Estate, Christie’s International Real Estate, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Luxury Portfolio International, Mayfair International Realty and the European Real Estate Network (EREN)—extend the company’s message to qualified buyers globally, ensuring the broadest possible exposure for our properties.
Michael Saunders & Company is ranked as the 52nd largest brokerage in dollar volume in the latest Real Trends 500 Survey of the 500 largest brokerages in the U.S. for 2011; and is included among the 35 most influential Realtors in luxury real estate.
For more information about Michael Saunders & Company, please call 1-888-552-5228 or visit us on the Web at MichaelSaunders.com.