Buying homes with bicycling in mind

House for sale: Located on bike path. Easy bike ride to shopping, schools and neighborhood bike repair store.

Wouldn't you like to see a house for sale ad like that?

I've always heard that the three most important points to selling a house are location, location, and location.

That used to mean location in terms of proximity to the freeway, neighborhoods, and maybe a Wal-Mart. Now there's news that a few real estate agents are taking location to mean proximity to roads with bicycle lanes and bike-centric businesses, and they're taking prospective customers on house tours by bike.

Portland and Boulder

The story “Realtors peddle homes to bicycle-happy buyers” features real estate agents in Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado. Not surprising, considering both cities rank high on the League of American Bicyclists' list of Bicycle Friendly Communities.

One Realtor in Portland, Kirsten Kaufman, realized earlier this summer that more people considered the cost of transportation when buying a house. With gasoline prices over $4 a gallon, she occasionally shows off houses via bicycle. The house tour includes a bike tour of the neighborhood, showing nearby bike lanes, bike shops, bus stops.

A Boulder firm goes beyond that. Pedal to Properties has 48 cruiser bicycles that its five agents use to show houses. According to the website:

“Pedal To Properties of Boulder is a new, innovative, full-service real estate company focused on assisting clients with buying and selling homes. It is unique in the sense that it provides an optional service for home buyers to experience property viewing on cruiser bikes. … It  provides …

An informational and exciting way to experience a city or neighborhood

An easy way to view multiple properties in a given area

An environmentally friendly choice

Another step toward healthy living”

Expansion

The idea has proved so successful that the owner, triathlete Matt Kolb, is considering expansion into Oregon and Texas.

I guess the real surprise about this story is that it has taken some Realtors so long to park their SUVs and get out on the bike to show off bike friendly neighborhoods. 

Some employers learned long ago that a bicycle friendly workplace helped to sell their company to prospective employees and help in retention.