The View From Here

Dear friends:

I am extremely relieved to report that the oil escaping into the Gulf from the Deepwater Horizon has been successfully capped. As heartbreaking as it was to see beaches along the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Coasts tainted with tar balls, we are certainly grateful in Southwest Florida to have never had so much as a trace of oil anywhere even remotely near our shoreline. Most of Florida, in fact, was completely spared the major effects of the oil spill. Plus, like the few beaches in Florida's far western Panhandle that were affected, tourism is bouncing back again.

Along our particular swath of the Gulf Coast-well over 300 miles southeast of the incident site-there was a temporary lull in waterfront property sales caused by concern about the spill. Several would-be buyers adopted a cautious "wait and see" approach in order to make doubly sure that oil would not reach our beaches. Now that it appears that the well will be "killed" within the next few days, buyers have resumed their quest for waterfront properties more confident than ever that oil-even from a spill of historic magnitude-will never make it this far south. As it was, ocean scientists had concluded from long term studies of currents in the Gulf that Southwest Florida had less than a one percent chance of experiencing oil washing up on our beaches; the lowest probability, in fact, of all beaches along Florida's both coasts, Atlantic and Gulf.

Meanwhile, we've just celebrated another anniversary at Michael Saunders & Company; our 34th. This month's Saunders@Home looks at how we've carefully maintained our chief specialty of listing and selling the regions finest high-value properties over the years; while gradually extending customer service to achieve market leadership in most other price ranges. In "No Stone Unturned" we reveal all of the resources we've assembled over the years to attract the most qualified buyers of high-value properties over $1 million.

Then in "Out-Booming the Boom" we examine the surprisingly strong recovery that has taken root in many of the price ranges below $1 million. New construction is also revving-up again, which is great news for an economic recovery largely dependent on new jobs.

Finally, as we enter our 35th year of service to Southwest Florida, we examine in "Core Services and Values" how we continually re-shape the company to respond to changing markets and to keep in step with the evolving needs of our clients and customers.

We hope you enjoy this edition of Saunders@Home and hope you have the opportunity before summer slips away to fall in love with our region's top-rate beaches all over again.

Cordially,

We would love to hear your comments and suggestions as to what you would like to read in the weeks and months ahead. Please email them to me, care of . editor@michaelsaunders.com Meanwhile enjoy our twenty-seventh issue.

Did You Know? Our office in the lobby of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Sarasota is staffed by an elite team of real estate professionals with extensive knowledge and expertise in our area's three Ritz-Carlton properties. Contact 941.364-8884 or visit michaelsaunders.com for more information.

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Phone: 888.552.5228