ABOUT COMMERCIAL AGENT Dean Saunders

Dean Saunders, ALC, CCIM is Founder, Managing Director, & Senior Advisor at SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate in Lakeland, Florida.

Since 1985, Dean has specialized in Florida land and conservation easements. He served in the US Senate as Agricultural Liaison, Special Assistant, and Director of External Affairs to US Senator Lawton Chiles, then Governor Chiles (D-FL).

From 1992 to 1996 he served in the Florida House of Representatives. Combining a passion for supporting landowner property rights while also conserving natural land in Florida, Dean proposed and became one of three main sponsors of Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act. This legislation later evolved into Floridas conservation easements programs. The concept of state-owned conservation easements was truly revolutionary 25 years ago, but the success of this idea is recognized today as a tremendous positive impact on our state.

He comes from an eighth-generation Florida agricultural family, earned a BSA from the University of Florida in Fruit Crops, Food and Resource Economics, and is a recognized Florida land and conservation easement authority.

In 1996, Dean formed the real estate brokerage firm as Saunders Real Estate, LLC and affiliated with the Coldwell Banker Commercial brand in early 2006. This affiliation brought a national and global presence to the firm.

In 2019, Saunders Real Estate affiliated with the SVN Shared Value Network, a globally recognized commercial real estate brand united by a shared vision of creating value with clients, colleagues, and communities. The brokerage also more fully integrated with its sister company, Saunders Ralston Dantzler Realty, a comprehensive commercial real estate brokerage, to become SVN | Saunders Ralston Dantzler Real Estate.

As an industry authority, Dean is published and quoted in a variety of respected journals, such as The Land Report, Florida Investor, Florida Trend, and Florida Forests. He authored the benchmark, award-winning consumer publication, We Create Solutions: A Primer on Conservation Easements and produces a real estate Florida land conference based upon his innovative work through the Lay of the Land Market Report. The report is the only source for verified Florida land sales and values for specific land property types.

Dean resides in Lakeland, FL with his wife, Gina, and their four children and is an avid hunter with numerous trophy mounts. Each year, the Saunders family commissions an original painting to add to The Saunders Collection: Natural Lands of Florida and Agricultural Heritage from well-known Florida wildlife artists. For performance in 2021, he was the 2 advisor in SVN among 1,117 advisors and 1 advisor in Florida among 200 advisors, earning the SVN Partners Circle award. In 2021, the brokerage was ranked 210 among the Inc. 5000 Regionals List as one of the fastest-growing companies in Florida. For 2021, the brokerage has been named for the third year to the Tampa Bay Business Journals list of Largest Commercial Real Estate Brokerages in Tampa Bay. 2021, 2020, 2019 named to the Florida Trend Florida 500 for his work in the real estate industry based on extensive contacts in regional business circles, hundreds of interviews, and months of research, and are considered Floridas most distinguished industry leaders. For performance in 2020, he was the 2 advisor in SVN among 1,620 advisors and 1 advisor in Florida among 198 advisors, earning the SVN Partners Circle award. In 2020, Dean received the National Commercial Award from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) for exceptional service and contributions to the commercial real estate industry. In 2020, Dean received the National Commercial Award from the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) for exceptional service and contributions to the commercial real estate industry.