Big Shoulders Realty/Bicycle Real Estate in today's Tribune

Neat!

Mary Umberger of the Chicago Tribune did a nice little article on Real Estate Agents and brokerages that encorporate cycling into their professions. Here is the link:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/chi-0614-umberg...

In case the link goes away, here is the text:

Cheers! - Lee Diamond

There's no law that says you can't have a little fun while shopping for real estate. How about hopping on a bike to go see a few listings?

That's the concept of an increasing number of brokerages and individual agents, who these days may be found peddling real estate, so to speak.

"I can't tell you how much nicer it is not to have to park when I go to show a house," explains Lee Diamond, broker and co-owner of Big Shoulders Realty in the Jefferson Park neighborhood.

The avid cyclist is probably right about that on a couple of levels, given the ongoing uproar over the complexity of parking on Chicago streets these days. Diamond and others at his brokerage have been showing properties by bike since the company was founded in 2006.

"We are a bicycling real estate company," he said.

His is probably the only one locally that's so pointedly devoted to the concept, but he says he's bumping into bicycling real estate agents more frequently these days, including some who have gone along with him for the ride during Big Shoulders' monthly bike tours (no home sales, just history and architecture) of Chicago neighborhoods.

As anybody in the real estate business would attest, in order to survive, you have to put yourself where the clients are. And many of them would seem to be on two wheels these days.


"In a market where everyone seems do be doing the same thing and there's no distinction among the top brokers, we're offering a niche service," explains Tim Majors, a partner in Pedal to Properties, a Boulder, Colo., brokerage that's particularly focused on biking.

The firm, founded in 2007, has five agents and a fleet of coaster-brake bikes that it uses for showings, including weekly group tours to multiple properties. The old school, vintage-style bikes bear placards with the company name, as well as baskets and water bottles.

P2P, as it calls itself, isn't opposed to visiting homes on four wheels ("actually, 70 percent of our sales are through the traditional way, by vehicle," Majors says), but business is good and the company is expanding.

It recently announced it acquired a partner and plans to open more offices in Colorado, as well as to begin franchising the concept in other states. He said that although there are no immediate plans for a Chicago franchise, the city probably would be a good fit.

The company also licenses its concept to agents who want to cultivate a bike specialty, he said.

"We've got about 20 agents in Charleston, S.C., who are working for another Realtor who, for an annual fee, use our concept," he said.

The image of the real estate agent behind the wheel of a car, chauffeuring clients to see houses, is pretty much ingrained in the industry. But Majors and others say that, weather permitting, bikes are a natural for real estate, where the neighborhood's parks, schools and amenities can be as much of a selling point as the house.

"The best way to see a neighborhood is on a bike," Diamond said. "Sometimes, people are worried -- they're wondering, 'Is this a place where I can walk around, where I will feel safe?' 'Are there things to do?' "

Eric Rojas had a habit of riding his bike to his own listings when he had appointments to show them to potential buyers. Last year, he started escorting them to other properties by bike when he and his clients realized they had a mutual interest in riding. The agent for Rubloff Residential Properties said the practice has turned into a niche for him -- although the unusually rainy spring weather this year hasn't exactly been a boon for biking.

Nonetheless, he plans to host his first organized tour of homes in Ravenswood and Lincoln Square on July 19.

He said the biking part of his business isn't rooted particularly in environmental zeal. He just likes it.

"I don't want to say to people, I'm more green than you are," he said. "But I work from home, jump on my bike, do a showing. I think it makes a lot of sense."