From the early days of Michael Saunders & Company, we learned that our customers were not just local, but global. It was clear that to best serve those who were coming from the Midwest, Northeast, Canada, or Europe, we were going to have to have national and international affiliations to connect in a meaningful way with those we assist.
Fast-forward forty years and our position at Michael Saunders & Company, as an independent, locally-owned and regionally-focused brokerage gives us the knowledge and flexibility necessary to hand select only those brokerage partners known for steering the most international buyers to our market. They presently include Christie’s International Real Estate, Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Luxury Portfolio International and Mayfair International Realty. Each of these affiliations—which collectively include 200,000 of the world’s top real estate agents working at the leading brokerage firms in some 50 countries—are chosen for the strategic function they perform.
The Importance of Being International
Even in the face of all the technological advances that have revolutionized our industry and made the world smaller, real estate remains a business built on face-to-face relationships. Our on-going partnerships with the world’s leading referral networks is why international buyers discover properties in Southwest Florida more often through Michael Saunders & Company than any other local independent, franchise or chain.
Listing your property with an agent from Michael Saunders & Company maximizes your home’s visibility to potential buyers near and far. Over the past 3 years alone, Michael Saunders & Company brought more buyers to our sellers in Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte Counties than any other company. In fact, we more than doubled the buyer sales by dollar volume of our closest competitor. (Source: Trendgraphix March 2017)
At the end of the day, sellers don’t mind where the buyer for their home may come from. But the brokerage they choose should leave no stone unturned in maximizing the number of buyers—both nationally and internationally—who are exposed to their property.
Saunders Stories
Listen to the latest Saunders Story as Michael Saunders and Drayton Saunders give their own perspectives on the importance of the personal touch in a global marketplace.
Michael Saunders: “So from the very beginning in the early days of the company, Sarasota was very, very attractive to a national market but also an international market and I knew that to have good international connections it was all about relationships. Face to face. One on one. Relationships based on trust. So I began building a network of people all over the country and all over the world that today are my best friends in the industry. Benedetta Vigano from Milano, her father and I were on Sotheby’s International Advisory Board twenty-six years ago when it wasn’t a franchise – when it was just a strong group of affiliates. Now, Benedetta runs the company. Jose Ribes Bas from Valencia, the Canadian brokers that when I started the company, Canadians were our primary international market. I remain in very close touch with all of them. So my global and national connections are not just on paper but they are personal relationships and you can name a city and I can call someone and be in touch with them instantaneous.
Drayton Saunders: “I think Europe in particular business is done so differently county by country. And how you hand that off is important and that European hand off is that connection to a person in that receiving market. And Michael really developed those inroads. And I’ve begun to get a sense of the wealth of benefit you have in knowing the people who live in those markets. And so for me that global market is again that extension of what’s built the company which is knowing the right people.
Michael Saunders: “And also, real estate is a great inter-generational business so I knew the parents. Drayton is knowing the children who are taking over their business across the county and across the world. So it really is very exciting for Drayton to be in the thick of things internationally and nationally. So that works for us and it’s really terrific for the business.”
Tune into more Saunders Stories:
Introducing Saunders Stories: The Beginnings of Michael Saunders & Company
A Very Magical Spot: Growing up on Longboat Key
Where to Build: Growing the Divisions of Michael Saunders & Company
We invite you to contact us today, and experience real estate with the local, global experts.