Agents Show Houses by Bike, Pointing Out
Paths, Racks, 'Tuck-Under' Garage

High gas prices and growing environmental concerns are making more home buyers interested in bicycle-friendly neighborhoods. Seeing a market, some real estate agents have traded their suits for spandex and are leading clients from house to house on two wheels instead of four.

While the development is nascent, agents in many areas of the country are offering home tours by bike. Craig Della Penna of Murphys Realtors Inc. in Northampton, Mass., started the service more than a year ago when he realized it would help clients judge whether properties are easily accessible to bike paths. "Because of the bike niche, I have new calls coming in every week," he says. Mr. Della Penna estimates about half of his 18 closings last year came about because he emphasized homes near bike trails.

Cris Noreen, a broker in the Ventnor, N.J., office of Farley and Ferry GMAC, leads clients on bike tours of five homes at a time, riding five to 10 miles per trip. He says some 20% of his sales result from the tours. In Davis, Calif., broker Chad DeMasi got the idea from a client who met him at a showing on a bicycle, telling Mr. DeMasi he wanted to ride around each property's neighborhood to get a sense of how bikeable it was.

While many of these prospective buyers pedal only for recreation -- or view a bike tour simply as a fun alternative to sitting in a broker's car -- others want to cut down on daily driving. The number of people who use bicycles to commute to work grew 28% from 2000 to 2006 when 623,039 Americans said they did so, according to the latest Census Bureau data. The U.S. bicycle industry also has been growing, with sales totaling $5.4 billion in 2007, up from $4.7 billion in 2001, according to research funded by the National Sporting Goods Association.

Targeting the cycling community is a new marketing tool for the struggling real estate industry. In June, sales of existing homes fell 15.5% from the same month last year, according to the National Association of Realtors. Riding down streets with prospective buyers attracts attention that could result in more business, these agents say. Some Realtors also attend cycling shows and "ride to work" days to boost their client bases.

One recent Saturday, agent Tammee Ryan of ERA Landmark in Bozeman, Mont., was out riding when she got a call from a client, Matt Kemmer. She met him on her bicycle, dressed in Lycra, and apologized profusely. Mr. Kemmer, a 34-year-old software consultant who also is a cyclist, had looked at 25 other properties, but he says he bought the one Ms. Ryan showed in part because they bonded over their interest in cycling and after she pointed out a bike path near the condo. "That's what was important to me," says Mr. Kemmer, who travels extensively for work and likes to ride everywhere when he is home. As a result, Ms. Ryan has started offering bike tours to other clients.

By NANCY KEATES

August 22, 2008; Page W10

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