Four in Sarasota-Naples area rated among nation's most powerful in residential real estate

Derek Gilliam, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
·2 min read
6
The downtown Sarasota skyline including Sarasota Bay.
The downtown Sarasota skyline including Sarasota Bay.

Four Southwest Florida real estate executives have been included in a nationwide list of the "200 most powerful" people in residential real estate, according to a news release from the Real Estate Almanac.

The Swanepoel Power 200 is the first section of the annual Real Estate Almanac complied by real estate consultants T3 Sixty.

Joining the likes of Rich Barton, co-founder of Zillow Group, and Bob Goldberg, the chief executive of the National Association of Realtors, was Budge Huskey, president and chief executive at Naples-based Premier Sotheby's International Realty, Michael and Drayton Saunders, with Sarasota's Michael Saunders & Co. and Merri Jo Cowen, chief executive at Stellar MLS.

Budge Huskey
Budge Huskey

Huskey landed on the list at 77 after leading 1,200 sales associates in 40 locations across Florida and North Carolina with annual sales of $10 billion, according to the Real Estate Almanac.

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Michael Saunders and Drayton Saunders came in at 95. Michael Saunders founded her company in 1976 in Sarasota. Her son, Drayton, joined the company in 2003, helping the firm grow to more than 20 offices with about 600 real estate agents. The firm has annual sales volume of $4.6 billion, according to a short biography on the Real Estate Almanac.

Drayton Saunders (left) and Michael Saunders (right) have been named among the 200 most powerful people in residential real estate, according to the Real Estate Almanac.
Drayton Saunders (left) and Michael Saunders (right) have been named among the 200 most powerful people in residential real estate, according to the Real Estate Almanac.

Cowen leads the third-largest multiple listing service in the nation. Stellar MLS serves 76,000 subscribers in central and southwest Florida and added more than 8,000 new subscribers over the last year. Cowen ranked as the 84th most influential real estate professional.

Other notable Florida real estate professionals who were listed include:

Jacksonville's Christy Budnick, CEO at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, who led the flagship franchise brand for HomeServices of America that has 50,000 affiliate agents responsible for $170 billion in sales volume. She came in at 19 on the list.

Teresa King Kinney, CEO with Miami Association of Realtors, came in at 65 on the list. Kinney leads the largest Realtor's Association in the nation with 50,000 members while also managing the fifth largest MLS. She's been in her position since 1993 when the association had just 5,000 members.

Ben Graboske, president of data and analytics at Black Knight, came in at 103. Black Knight is a data analytics firm headquartered in Jacksonville. A popular software program designed by Black Knight, according to the Real Estate Almanac, is used by more than 200 MLSs across the nation.

Dionna Hall, CEO at Broward, Palm Beaches and St. Lucie Realtors and Beaches MLS, came in at 115. Hall leads the third-largest Realtors association and helps manage five regional boards.

Phil Wood, president and CEO of John R. Wood Christie’s International Real Estate, was 134 on the list. Wood oversees about 700 agents with an annual sales volume of $5.5 billion.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Four SW Florida executives on list of tops in residential real estate