Patricia Petersen, Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty

What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2010? This rather simple question requires a complicated response. We've been the dominant residential real estate firm for Long Island's North Shore since 1922, but 2009 was a very challenging year-for our market, the U.S. Housing Market at large, and the world economy. Our absolutely unrivaled team of professionals rallied with energy, enthusiasm, expertise and determination to make 2010 surpass 2009. Transactions (closed residential sales) for our DMA increased by 9% in 2010; ours increased by 14%. DMA sales volume increased 14%, Daniel Gale Sotheby's increased 25%. Our company's average sales price was literally double the rest of the DMA.