"The growth is unprecedented for us, particularly in light of national economic uncertainty during the first part of 2003," Ron Shuffield, president and CEO of Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors, says in a statement. The firm also had a more than 40% increase in sales since 2000.

Shuffield attributes a significant part of the growth to the company's growing representation of new residential developments. Among the South Florida projects the company represents are Metropolitan Miami, a $600-million mixed-use development in Miami by MDM Development Group that will include 1,500 condominium and apartment units; Downtown Dadeland, a $140-million mixed-use retail/residential "village" in Miami by Gulfside Development Co. Inc. that will include 416 condominiums and 115,000 sf of retail space; and Andalusia, a $32-million, eight-story, 103-unit project being developed in Downtown Coral Gables by Dayco.

Contributing to the company's success was its relationship with HomeServices of America Inc., which purchased EWM in 2003.