REAL Exclusive Magazine

Dollar Volume And Unit Sales Up At Michael Saunders & Company.

Michael Saunders & Company reported sales of $342.1 million in properties during the 1st Quarter of 2010. The amount represents an 81% increase in year-over-year unit sales with a corresponding 73% improvement over the dollar volume recorded for the same quarter last year.

This past March the firm sold $149.4 million in properties representing a 52% improvement over March, 2009; with a corresponding 64% increase in year-over-year unit sales.

We’re absolute thrilled with these results,” said Michael Saunders, the Sarasota, Florida-based company’s founder and CEO. “It took plenty of patience, hard work and superb negotiating skills to achieve this level of production in such an unforgiving market. I credit my agents with doing a magnificent job of keeping their clients and customers constantly informed and updated about the market and its many challenges.  The decision to buy or sell successfully in today’s market is a process that requires agents to act as educators as well as professional real estate counselors.”

As a strong sign that the company’s sales momentum will continue into the 2nd Quarter, the firm’s pending sales for the 1st Quarter were up by 94%; and up by 86% for the month of March alone. Pending sales typically become closed sales one to three months after a contract is executed.

“As improved as our market is, most of the improvement is clustered in the lower end; among properties priced below $350,000” Saunders adds. “The upper end is lagging in the correction and is even experiencing its first wave of foreclosures. Nevertheless, I remain cautiously optimistic that the market will continue to improve even after the tax credit expires and interest rates go up; which they did as predicted, almost from the very moment the Federal Reserve ceased buying mortgage-backed securities. Sellers in all price ranges should not let their guard down; thinking that the market is now healthy enough to support overpriced listings, price increases or less of a willingness to negotiate. We’ve gotten as far as we have thanks to buyers who are cherry-picking the most aggressively priced properties in all neighborhoods and price ranges.”