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

Some show houses exclusively by bike, wheeling through neighborhoods with potential buyers.

Portland's Kirsten Kaufman is part of a new generation of agents eager to stop hauling clients around in fancy sedans.

Kaufman, a mother of three, started hosting bike tours this summer, doling out energy bars and apricots to a growing collection of clients whose passion for pedalling weighs heavily in their choice of homes.

"It's becoming more common to see families committing to driving less," Kaufman said. "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.

Bike agents say pedalling with clients is helping real estate agents boost business. 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 home buyers are placing more importance on cutting their commutes and that homes near urban centers and subway, train and bus stops are selling faster than those in the distant suburbs.

In a June Coldwell Banker survey, more than 95 percent of agents said 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.

'A six-block radius'

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

Pedal to Properties has five agents and a fleet of 48 cruiser bikes and big plans for nationwide expansion.

"For people who want to drive less, it just makes sense that they'd be looking for different things in a neighborhood," said 35-year-old Emily Gardener, who has been looking for a new house with Kaufman.

"Kirsten was able to see things about places we were looking that I don't think a normal agent would have noticed," she said.

Circling neighborhoods in northeast Portland, the duo passed on a number of homes. Some were too far out. Others had no handy place to store a bike or were cut off from easy biking by hostile traffic.

Earlier this month, Bikes Belong, a cycling advocacy group, conducted a 40-state survey that showed more than a third of stores are selling more bikes.

Portland State University urban planning professor Jennifer Dill has studied how neighborhood planning affects cycling habits. She advises homebuyers to look for homes in areas with gridded street patterns.

But most important, Dill says, is proximity.

Even people who don't bike often are finding bike-friendly realty to have advantages.

After months of searching, Gardener and Kaufman found a two story fixer-upper with a sprawling backyard and turquoise trim, surrounded by safe streets and easy access.

Not a job for everyone

But not all agents and clients are cut out for this, cautions Eric Rojas, a Chicago agent who pedals to showings and plans to start urging customers to ride along with him.

"This is a hard job to do on a bike," he said.

For some real estate agents the idea of biking with clients is just too casual.

"Anything client-involved should exclude a bicycle," Portland real estate agent Charles Turner said. "If you're meeting someone on location, you're not exactly business-presentable when you show up dripping with sweat."

But Rojas says his clients have learned to accept it.

"If they don't want a sweaty realtor, then maybe they want someone else," he said.

As the real estate market continues to slump, Rutgers urban planning professor John Putcher says more agents will turn to niche markets.

As the popularity of bike commuting continues to rise, Kaufman says she is 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. "This isn't about trying to green-wash real estate or profit from a niche market. It's about helping people make smart decisions, both for themselves and for the planet."

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