Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on September 1, 2010
Sarasota is recognized around the world as a special place. It’s like Santa Fe or Santa Barbara – blessed by nature, with a unique beauty that stirs the soul. Mankind has been gentle to its delicate environment. Sarasota homes celebrate the sunny, tropical atmosphere, and as a community, both city and county achieve a harmony of place that attracts people from all over the world. Those who could live anywhere choose to live here.
What makes Sarasota so special? First of all, its spectacular 35 miles of white sand beaches. They are recognized as among the finest in the world. Some have white talcum powder sands of pure quartz – cool and soft to the touch. Others are perfect for shelling and bird watching and fishing. Some attract families, with gently lapping waves perfect for children – and grandchildren. On others you may well be the only person in sight. But sunset turns each of them into an unforgettable experience.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 31, 2010
New College of Florida - Sarasota
Stopped behind a school bus recently gave us an appropriate moment to reflect on how very fortunate we are to live in a region that takes education very seriously at all levels.
Families with school-age children can look forward to enrolling them in one of Florida’s highest-rated public school systems. The Sarasota County school district has been designated an “A” district by the Florida Department of Education, with 95 percent of its elementary schools and 84 percent of its high schools receiving “A” or “B” grades in 2009. Its graduation rate is at an all-time high of 86 percent; and even though we are rarely thought of in the same breath as Florida’s better-known college towns, our college-bound seniors have no less than 15 institutions of higher learning to choose from within Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte Counties.
Many of our public and private schools, colleges and universities are routinely ranked among the nation’s best. U.S. News & World Report, for example, consistently ranks Pine View School for the Gifted among the nation’s very best public high schools. The school also ranks 1st in the State of Florida both for mean SAT scores and mean ACT scores.
Just last Tuesday, U.S. News’ 2011 edition of America’s Best Colleges hit the newsstands. It ranks Sarasota’s New College of Florida among the top five of all public liberal arts colleges in the U.S. For the sixth consecutive year! Offering apologies to Harvard, Yale and Princeton, Parade Magazine—in its August 22nd edition— ranks New College among the top 7 colleges where you can get an Ivy League education at a public university price.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 27, 2010
Sarasota County:
Consistent with the national decline in sales that followed the expiration of the home buyer tax credit, sales in Sarasota County declined by 22.9% versus last July—when the tax credit was in full effect. Pendings remained flat, year over year, which is an encouraging sign. They kept pace with last July, when the tax credit was in effect.
Manatee County:
Year over year sales were flat, an indication that July sales without the tax credit kept pace with last year’s sales when the credit was in full effect. Year over year pendings not only kept pace with last year, but finished the month up by 5.1%.
Charlotte County:
Sales down by 8.2% in the first month since the tax credit expired. Pendings kept pace with last year, when the tax credit was in effect.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 25, 2010
Bay Isles is what most people think of when they picture Longboat Key. It is gated, of course, and impeccably manicured, with lavish yet discrete homes. Views of the water or the golf course – or both – are everywhere. The lifestyle epitomizes affluent Florida living – year round golf, tennis, boating, with the famous cultural pursuits and fine dinning of Sarasota just a few minutes away.
Located at the southern end of historic Longboat Key on land that was first developed by John Ringling, the common thread that runs through Bay Isles’ collection of gated communities is a unique level of taste and luxury.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 18, 2010
Yesterday michaelsaunders.com was re-born after more than 14 months of intense labor. Needless-to-say, re-developing the site was a labor of love involving not only our technology, marketing and management teams, but also the most nationally prominent interactive communications and web design agency in the real estate industry. More importantly, it involved significant input from our clients, customers, and agents.
For the fifth time since it debuted 15 years ago michaelsaunders.com has been completely made over to provide users with an online real estate experience more befitting of today’s vastly improved web technology. Combining up-to-the-minute market conditions by city with a simpler, more advanced property search function, the site has been extensively tested by many of the industry’s leading experts—with additional improvements the direct result of their participation.
In the end, however, it was the input of home buyers and sellers—along with our own agents—that mattered most. These will be the site’s most frequent end-users—and its toughest critics. So far, we’ve received raves about its wealth of relevant content and user-friendly design.
Specifically, here are the three major features that users find most relevant:
- A simple, straightforward search function that includes property information delivered directly from the MLS—including big bold photography.
- Up-to-the-minute market reports—compiled by Altos Research—a company that pulls statistical data from a variety of sources, including city property records, to deliver local market conditions for incorporated cities. While traditional data sources still rely on months-old or incomplete data, we now provide visitors to michaelsaunders.com with a clear, concise view of current market conditions.
- Neighborhood pages filled with content to help facilitate important real estate decisions. These pages combine real estate listings with High Definition community video tours, local business reviews, a library of area photos; and much more.
Obviously the best way to find out about michaelsaunders.com is not by reading about it; but by visiting the site yourself and sampling its features. As always, we welcome your comments, criticism and suggestions for improvement. It took a lot of hard work to re-birth this “baby” and we want to make sure its just right.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 18, 2010
The world famous white quartz sand of Siesta Key’s Crescent Beach ends with a stretch of limestone rocks, a formation unique on Florida’s west coast. This is Point of Rocks, the Key’s highest elevation. The homes set on the bluff above the rocks are among the Key’s most desirable. Those facing the Gulf have spectacular views and the neighborhood itself retains touches of Siesta Key as it used to be.
It’s a low key community, intimate in scale, with less than 100 homes. Some are remodeled and expanded classics from the 1950’s and 60’s; other are newer and contain every luxury. A canopy road adds to the old fashioned, tropical atmosphere.
Posted by Michael Saunders & Company on August 17, 2010
It’s with great excitement that we announce the all new michaelsaunders.com, an entirely updated version of the web site we first introduced in 1995. The new site was launched earlier today and you are cordially invited to be one if its first visitors.
Three major new features make this newest version of michaelsaunders.com as ground-breaking today as the original was back then:
• A simple, straightforward search function that includes property information delivered directly from the MLS. In conjunction with our striking new “Gallery” display feature, this makes for a much more visually compelling search experience.
• Up-to-the-minute market data provided by Altos Research, an award-winning company that monitors millions of properties in order to deliver the most comprehensive database of local market conditions available. While traditional data sources rely on months-old market data, we now provide you with a clear view of current conditions that can be understood at a glance.
• Neighborhood pages filled with content to help facilitate your important decisions. The new michaelsaunders.com features neighborhood pages combining real estate listings with High Definition community video tours, local business reviews, a library of area photos; and much much more.
Michael Saunders & Company was among the first brokerages in the industry to recognize the massive potential of the Internet. Since 1995 we have issued no less than three complete makeovers as technology improved and consumers sought still more timely and relevant content to guide them in their real estate experience.
As always, your input is extremely important to us. Please enjoy your first visit to the new michaelsaunders.com and let us know how you found the experience.
