Daniel Gale names Deirdre O’Connell as chief executive

Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty, which handled $3.3 billion in home sales last year, has named Deirdre O’Connell as chief executive.

O’Connell, 54, replaces Patricia Petersen, who had served as president and CEO since 1991. Petersen will stay on as chairman of the board and president.

O’Connell joined Daniel Gale more than a decade ago and previously worked as the company’s general sales manager.

The firm, with 27 offices on Long Island and in Queens, projects it will sell more than $3.5 billion worth of homes this year.

“Inventory is down and our buyer pool is up in most price ranges,” O’Connell said Thursday in an email.

“Many Baby Boomers have chosen not to sell their primary homes, which has been a huge factor in stalling available inventory,” she said. The new federal tax law, with its $10,000 cap on deductions of state and local taxes, including property taxes, “may motivate some to finally move, which will bring more homes to the market,” she said.

In 2017 the firm’s average sales price was $912,000, well above the $509,000 average for a home in Nassau and Suffolk counties (excluding the Hamptons), Daniel Gale said.

The firm is opening new offices in Great Neck and Smithtown, O’Connell said, “and strategic growth remains a part of our business plan.”

The company has 92 full-time and 41 part-time employees, and 900 agents.