Waay back in 2008, various news media highlighted a growing trend of house showings by bike in Boulder, Colorado; Chicago; Northhampton, MA; Ventnor, NJ; Davis, CA; and elsewhere. Real estate agents tried every trick they could think of during the foreclosure disaster of 2008, when nobody was buying.
Now that home sales and prices are ticking back up in 2013, it’s nice to see Realtors continue to use bikes to show homes, especially in neighborhoods where parking can be challenge. The Forbes story focuses on Jeanne Harrison and Phil Guire with Coldwell Banker in Washington DC.
Real estate agents usually “drive fancy cars,” says Harrison, who along with her partner, Phil Guire, prefers to bicycle instead. “We sell a lot of real estate and we get around by bike a lot.” After all, in the busy, hard-to-park Capitol Hill area, pedal power “is the fastest way to get around.”
Ms. Harrison, and her partner, Phil Guire, are among the growing cadre of real estate agents nationwide cycling alongside their clients to see prospective houses. While she rides her own bike, the buyers often use the cruisers for rent at the Capital Bikeshare stations.
Forbes also mentions a familiar (to me) business: Pedal To Properties in Boulder, Colorado. I first mentioned them in 2008 and I’m glad to see they’re still around and apparently growing.
More –> Realtors Using Pedal Power To Sell Homes. Via Joseph in Gainesville.
It would be awesome to see a real estate agents use something like a Yuba elMundo electric cargo bike (http://yubabikes.com/bikes/el-mundo/) to carry themselves and 1-2 adults around a dense neighborhood. Quick, easy, fun, and makes house hunting by bike accessible for people who don’t regularly ride a bike.