Realtor finds sales niche in neighborhoods

BOULDER — For 15 consecutive years, Steve Altermatt has been Walnut Realty’s top residential Realtor due in large part to his specialization in several Boulder neighborhoods.

His success is also a result of a love of homes, a watchful eye on market trends and consistent communication with the communities he serves.

Altermatt’s niche is south and east Boulder — an area he knows well because he has lived in Martin Acres, a 1950s-era subdivision in south Boulder, for 20 years.

In 1988, he started his realty career by focusing on homes in his own back yard. Bounded by U.S. 36, Table Mesa Boulevard and Broadway, Martin Acres consists of about 1,300 single-family homes. During his early years, many residents and clients recognized Altermatt’s name from the local school’s parent teacher organization, where he served as president, and from the Martin Acres Neighborhood Organization, where he was also president for several years in the 1990s.

As a means to keep in touch with neighbors, Altermatt began mailing letters, about five to six per year, to inform residents about what’s happening in Martin Acres, forecasts for home values in the area, and a tally of who’s selling what in the neighborhood. Since their introduction, the letters have proven to be a hit with not only current residents but with former residents as well.

?After people move out from Martin Acres, I have had several people request to continue to receive the newsletter,? Altermatt said. ?They continue to want to know what’s happening with the neighborhood.?

He also receives postcards from residents who may be a year or two away from listing their homes but write to express their appreciation for the newsletters. ?How many other Realtors receive postcards like that?? he questioned.

To date, he sends his signature letters to six additional neighborhoods: Majestic Heights, Hi View, South Creek 7, Table Mesa, Park East and Baseline/Aurora 7. Each mailing, he dispatches 5,000 letters, and he continues to send a mailing five to six times a year.

Altermatt currently sells, on average, 50 to 60 homes per year. However, there was a time when he sold more than 100 annually. When his volume was higher, he delegated responsibilities to two full-time assistants to support the sales. But using assistants made him lose a part of the job that he loved the most — people contact.

Selling fewer homes allows him to have more time for his family and to provide better service, he said. He no longer uses assistants and works directly for all clients.

Being a Realtor can be hard on a family, Altermatt added. ?I’m like a doctor. I’m always on call to discuss (a client’s) future,? he said. ?But I take my position very seriously. How I perform affects other people’s hopes and dreams.?

According to Altermatt, Boulder Realtors who specialize in neighborhoods are a rarity. By focusing on specific areas, however, it allows him to more accurately price and market homes. Due to his deep knowledge of the neighborhoods, Altermatt is able to create detailed reports on homes that include more analytical information, similar to an appraisal.

For example, he monitors supply and demand in his neighborhoods and tracks the percentage of homes that are under contract. Currently, in southeast Boulder, he said, there are 24 homes less than $300,000 on the market, and nine are under contract.

?This means that 38 percent of homes have buyers going through the loan approval process to purchase a particular home,? Altermatt said. ?In the $300,000 to $350,000 range, 52 percent of homes are under contract. So if a Realtor says to a client with a home in the $325,000 range that they need to basically give their home away, this simply isn’t true. The Realtor is doing (the seller) a disservice.?

In addition to coming from a family of Realtors, Altermatt’s personal interests have helped cultivate his appreciation for homes. He has designed, built and remodeled homes, which has served to strengthen his understanding of a home’s true value.

As a means of adding value to the communities he serves, Altermatt volunteers in a number of ways. He coached boys’ and girls’ sports for 10 years. He also helped to save a sacred mountain in Boulder County from development in the early 1990s. American Indians use the mountain for ceremonies, he said, so he wrote a contract that kept the land tied up until money could be raised to rescue it.

Additionally, for every home he sells, Altermatt and his family deliver a complete Thanksgiving dinner to needy families in Boulder County. One year, they distributed 112 dinners.

?I do this anonymously. I don’t do it for personal gratification or marketing reasons,? he added. ?I do (volunteer work) because I feel that I’ve been blessed to live in this community and I need to give something back.?

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