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The debate over whether home prices have stabilized
in Southwest Florida has reached something
of a confusing impasse, with as many experts saying
they have as those who think they haven’t quite.
Regardless of whom hindsight eventually crowns
the winner of this somewhat ludicrous debate —
which accomplishes little more than stalling our
recovery by injecting more uncertainty into many
would-be buyers — competitively-priced properties
at Michael Saunders & Company continue to sell
at the average rate of $4.5 million each day.
Meanwhile some of the major beneficiaries of
today’s value-laden real estate market are wasting
no time on the sidelines waiting for the pundits to
sort out whether now is the right time to buy, or
not. These are today’s international buyers, many
of them from Western Europe, who are recognizing
some of the best buying opportunities to come out
of Southwest Florida in many years. With a buyers’
market in full swing over here, and the dollar at
unprecedented lows over there, they’re cueing up
as never before to happily seize on opportunities
that could just as easily slip away while the debate
rages on. Whether a great deal today could get
better by waiting is a moot issue if the home you
want sells tomorrow to someone else. The time
to buy, the pundits will eventually agree, is in the
eye of the beholder.
At Michael Saunders & Company, we haven’t
suddenly realized the importance of the international
buyer. Our perfect little swath of coastline
has long been favored by quality and cultureconscious
Europeans and reaching out to them
where they live has been an important benefit
extended to our sellers for going on four decades
now. Indeed no one has been a more dedicated
or tireless ambassador of our enviable lifestyle
than Michael Saunders, who at great effort and
expense has pursued one international brokerage
partnership after another since first opening
her doors back in 1976. To continually satisfy the
best interests of our customers, Michael Saunders
& Company now claims exclusive relationships
with several of the top consortiums of independent
brokerages throughout the world. These include
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World,
Luxury Portfolio, Board of Regents, Christies
Great Estates, EREN-The European Real Estate
Network and London’s Mayfair International
Realty, an organization representing 125 real estate
brokerages with 350 offices throughout the United
Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.
Just since ringing in the New Year, Michael
Saunders has logged thousands of air miles to take
the podium at numerous international conferences
— held on both sides of the Atlantic — to preach
the marvels of paradise on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
One week in New York, the next in Chicago; her
next stop will be in the Dominican Republic where
you will find her promoting Southwest Florida
before an international conference of EREN,
the European Real Estate Network, one of our
newest brokerage partners. Comprised of 22 of the
most prestigious European property firms, EREN
operates from 53 offices in 10 countries. Then it’s
off to Boca Raton for the international conference
of Leading Real Estate Companies of the
World where as chairman of the board for her third
straight year she will welcome representatives from
the organization’s 700 affiliate firms representing
160,000 sales associates from over 35 countries
around the world.
Then it’s west to a conference in California,
on to Denver, overseas to Rome, back to Denver,
overseas to the UK, and so on throughout much of
the year. To keep up with this annual schedule of
promoting Southwest Florida to brokers around the
world you’d need a few pairs of comfortable shoes
and a year’s supply of Wheaties. And since it’s not
uncommon to hear her friends and colleagues ask
where in the world is Michael Saunders, a global
positioning system couldn’t hurt.
The debate over whether home prices have stabilized in Southwest Florida has reached something of a confusing impasse, with as many experts saying they have as those who think they haven’t quite.
Regardless of whom hindsight eventually crowns the winner of this somewhat ludicrous debate — which accomplishes little more than stalling our recovery by injecting more uncertainty into many would-be buyers — competitively-priced properties at Michael Saunders & Company continue to sell at the average rate of $4.5 million each day. (More …)
A recent piece in the Sunday Times confirmed that British buyers are returning to their favourite destinations to look for second homes in favour of less tried and tested markets. They say “Florida’s property market has collapsed, but with the worst over, it could be time to swoop in the Sunshine State”
