Real estate agents say homebuyers are placing more emphasis on cutting commutes, gas bills

PORTLAND, ORE. • With gas prices high, bicycles flying out of stores and a buyers' market for houses, a handful of real estate agents around the country are touting the two-wheeled appeal of their listings.

   Some even show houses exclusively by bike, wheeling through the neighborhood with potential buyers to show off bike lanes and bike-focused businesses and repair shops.

   Clad in a purple helmet, with plastic flowers dangling from her handlebars, Portland's Kirsten Kaufman is part of a new generation of agents eager to replace the stereotype of hauling clients around in a fancy sedan or SUV.

   The mother of three started hosting bike tours earlier this summer, doling out energy bars and apricots to clients whose passion for pedaling weighs heavily in their choice of homes. Some are hard-core cyclists. Others are moving into the city to avoid increasingly expensive and onerous commutes.

   "It's becoming more common to see families committing to driving less," said Kaufman. "I think it's a part of the market that will continue to grow as gas gets more expensive."

   Over the summer, sales of homes dipped by more than 15 percent from last year, according to the National Association of Realtors, leaving Kaufman and other agents looking for ways to spark business.

   Bike agents say pedaling with clients is providing that boost. Behind a niche market that represents only a sliver of national sales is a bigger trend - a fundamental shift in the way people think about buying homes.

   Real estate agents and industry surveys indicate that homebuyers are placing more importance on cutting their gas bills and commute times and that homes near urban centers and subway, train and bus stops are selling faster than those in the distant suburbs.

   In June, a Coldwell Banker survey showed more than 95 percent of agents say rising gas prices are a concern to their clients. More than three-quarters of clients say higher fuel costs are increasing their desire for city living.

   "Living out in the suburbs just isn't a big deal anymore," says Matt Kolb, a bike agent who owns Pedal to Properties, a Colorado firm. "People want to live, work and go to school within a six-blocks radius - that's changing the way they look at property."

   Boulder-based Pedal to Properties has five agents and a fleet of 48 cruiser bikes and big plans for nationwide expansion. Next year, the company will stretch into Oregon and Texas.

   Bikes Belong, a cycling advocacy group, conducted a 40-state survey last month that showed more than a third of stores are selling more bikes, and more than 95 percent of shops say customers are citing high gas prices as a reason for transportation-related purchases.

   Portland State University urban planning professor Jennifer Dill has studied how neighborhood planning affects cycling habits, and advises homebuyers to look for homes in areas with gridded street patterns and to avoid cul-de-sacs.

   "On a bike, you want to minimize stopping," she said. "You're going to want to look at streets with low traffic volume."

   But most important, says Dill, is proximity. Commuters in her Portland-based study rode an average of four miles into the office each day.

   As the popularity of bike commuting continues to rise, Kaufman says she's eager to see how far the wheels of her dark green Trek will take her.

   "Ultimately, I want to help people find a home that's going to work for them," she said.