A legacy of excellence and trust since 1976

Local expertise, global connections and commitment to our communities

For nearly 50 years, independently owned Michael Saunders & Company has adapted to the inevitable ups, downs and shifts in the local real estate market to provide expertise and meticulous service to buyers and sellers throughout every step of their real estate journey.

It all began in 1976, when Founder and CEO Michael Saunders took out a co-signed $5,000 loan to start her own real estate business. After growing up on north Longboat Key and graduating from college, Saunders’ passion for making a difference inspired her to become a schoolteacher and then a social worker. Her love of the Gulf Coast and superb people skills led her into real estate, where she apprenticed with brokers and developed a vision of her own firm. Guided by strong ideals, creative thinking and a foundation rooted in customer care, Saunders launched the company in a small office on St. Armands Circle with a team of like-minded agents and staff who shared the same drive to make a difference.

Michael’s son, Drayton Saunders, joined the Sarasota-based firm in 2003, becoming the company’s president in 2010. Through their strategic vision, tenacity and perseverance, the company has grown into a thriving full-service brokerage offering the most comprehensive range of real estate services in Southwest Florida, including mortgage, title, insurance and relocation services, developer services, and a commercial real estate division. Today, a collaborative team of agents, support staff and leadership work out of 20 offices spanning three Gulf Coast counties. The leading luxury real estate company on Florida’s Suncoast, Michael Saunders & Company achieved $3.8 billion in sales volume in 2022.

From the beginning, Michael Saunders set out to align her company with the most influential – and independent – brokerages in real estate. International affiliations with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World®, Luxury Portfolio International and Mayfair International connect the company’s agents nationally and globally and put local listings on the radar of luxury buyers and sellers around the world.

“Having access to these premier brokers who have strong footholds and commanding market share in their respective markets is important to our agents and customers alike,” Drayton says.

Michael and Drayton also are committed to enriching community life through their involvement with a multitude of local organizations over the years. Drayton serves on the board of directors of the Van Wezel Foundation and Gulfside Bank and is a member of Sarasota County’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, while Michael has been involved with Mote Marine, Selby Gardens and Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe and the Education Foundation of Sarasota County, to name just a few.

The MSC Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, is dedicated to improving lives in the communities it serves. Through the donations of agents, staff and leadership, the Foundation provides twice-a-year grants to nonprofit organizations across Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties that provide “shelter, sustenance, education and a path to self-sufficiency.” Drayton serves as vice president of the Foundation, which has raised $1,192,548 for more than 250 area nonprofits since its inception in 2011.

Michael and Drayton agree that the company draws its strength from trustful relationships – agents with clients, company with agents and community with company. “We not only want to make the company better; we want to make the community better,” Michael says.