In 2022, Joel welcomed his daughter, Orly Ripmaster, into the family business. (Photo: Jonathan Castner).
Joel Ripmaster, founder of Colorado Landmark Realtors, has been an icon of luxury residential real estate in Boulder County for 45 years. (Photo: Jonathan Castner).
Joel Ripmaster, founder of Colorado Landmark Realtors, has been an icon of luxury residential real estate in Boulder County for 45 years. Over the course of its history, his firm has become a leader in the luxury market as the Boulder market has grown into the hottest real estate market in the country.
Joel sets the tone for the firm with his professionalism and outstanding achievements, including numerous awards such as The Original President’s Elite Award in Colorado, National Top Producer Award over four decades, and most recently, Managing Broker of the Year in 2020. Joel also holds designations of CRB, CRS and CCIM, and Realtor® Emeritus. His love and dedication to the Colorado community extends far beyond his professional life, though – he played varsity football at the University of Colorado, has completed the Bolder Boulder race 25 times, and spends his free time skiing. “Raising a multi-generational Colorado family and business right here in town is my most distinct pride,” he adds.
Joel graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1968. He and his college sweetheart, who would eventually become his wife, spent time hiking from campus to Chautauqua Park and daydreaming about their future: owning a home in Boulder, starting a family and business, and spending their life in this place that was already home. “I fell in love with Boulder, my wife, and residential real estate and what it represented to my young family,” he says.
Joel ran the company independently for 45 years, surrounding himself with an impressive team of experts with extensive and unrivaled knowledge about local real estate who continue to deliver world-class results every year. In 2022, Joel welcomed his daughter, Orly Ripmaster, into the family business. Orly was raised in Boulder where she attended Alexander Dawson High School. She graduated from Harvard University, where she played soccer and lacrosse, then returned to CU Boulder to honor her father’s legacy in sports: she led the Buffs to a Big 12 Championship in 2003. “Real estate is in my DNA,” says Orly. “After growing up around Colorado Landmark Realtors, I spent nearly 20 years in the Travel & Leisure real estate sector, most recently as chief of staff and head of investor relations at KSL Capital Partners.” As a father/daughter team, Joel and Orly have positioned Colorado Landmark Realtors for success with a sales-centric organization, a discerning eye for talent, and a focus on strong growth and scaled operations for the next generation of their business.
Orly Ripmaster, President, (Photo: Jonathan Castner).
The results at Colorado Landmark Realtors speak for themselves: the firm has made over $1 billion in sales since 2020 with an average sale price of over $1 million. “What we are most proud of, however, is contributing to building the Boulder community by forging meaningful, profitable and enduring relationships and commitments to clients, friends and neighbors,” says Joel. “The result of this service-oriented leadership is unmatched in our market. We run a business built on transparency, dedication, and award-winning knowledge of the marketplace.”
While the numbers are obviously impressive, the Ripmasters don’t limit luxury to a number. “Luxury is never about a price-point or a product category,” says Joel. “Luxury is a mindset we adhere to for every home we represent and a service for every person who places their trust in our team. That is luxury, the Landmark way. Every home is a landmark to our clients, and buying or selling a home is a landmark occasion in their lives.”
Colorado Landmark Realtors walks the talk when it comes to involvement: they are passionate about giving back and do so in a variety of ways. “At the heart of everything we do – and what is essential to the development of each of our agents – is a passion and focus on the health, well-being and happiness of our clients and our local communities,” says Orly. “Our brokerage is committed to an economically sound, beautiful, and welcoming community because our business only does well if our community does well. This deep connection drives every decision we make.”
Vanessa Prochaska, General Manager (Photo: Jonathan Castner).
In recognition of their company name, Colorado Landmark Realtors contributes a portion of every sale to the preservation of important Boulder County landmarks. Additionally, the Colorado Landmark Realtors team mobilized to serve their community after the Marshall Fire this past winter: they raised more than $175,000 in less than three days, negotiated more than 1,000 hotel rooms for evacuated families, set up an aid station in their Louisville office and assembled a free pop-up shop at their Niwot office that provided more than 400 community members with collected donations. They were recognized with a “Leading RE Good Things” award by Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® for their impressive and rapid efforts to support their neighbors.
While Joel and Orly are incredibly proud of their achievements as a father/daughter team, they know that their iconic reputation wouldn’t be possible without the incredible team of agents at Colorado Landmark Realtors. “We are ambassadors of Boulder, and we believe this starts with our agents—our most valued stakeholders, our brand champions—who inspire our clients and elevate their experience,” says Orly. “We are independent and we value independence. Our agents are unique and each offer something new. They are encouraged and enabled to be exceptional storytellers. Our worth and competitive edge over large brokerage firms comes from our distinctive culture of authenticity, trustworthiness and local market mastery. All of these factors have uniquely combined to yield the most important outcome for our clients. We sell houses for more, we sell them faster and we treat people like family.”
To learn more, visit coloradolandmark.com.
By Emma Castleberry, At Home Colorado
