Portland real estate broker Kirsten Kaufman knows that in order to sell a home, you’ve got to first sell the neighborhood. And increasingly, in addition to the quality of local schools and proximity to parks, Ms. Kaufman’s clients want to live in a place that is bike-friendly.
To capitalize on that trend, Kaufman has launched regular “Tour de Homes” where she pedals with potential homebuyers and points out things like bike-parking and bike boulevards.
Full slideshow here
Back in July, she hosted a bike tour of the Sunnyside neighborhood in Southeast Portland. A photo slideshow of that ride published to her website included captions with phrases like:
“Traffic calmed streets and bicycle boulevards make getting around Sunnyside a breeze.”
“Bike corrals provide on-street parking for cyclists and leave room for pedestrians on Belmont.”
“A tuck-under garage provides convenient bike parking.”
Kaufman says she started the tours in June as a way to highlight bike, pedestrian, and transit-friendly neighborhoods. Part of her business plan is to help people who want to drive less and she says that’s “a growing segment of the population, especially here in Portland.”
Kirsten Kaufman
(Photo: Kirsten Kaufman)
“I’ve gotten a lot of interest and positive feedback in the tours,” she says, “And as we cyclists know, there is an intangible and priceless benefit to be gained in ‘quality of life’ by getting out of our cars and into our communities.”
The golden rule of real estate has been always been “location, location, location”, but Kaufman says she’s trying to get people to think instead of, “proximity, proximity, proximity.”
[Editor’s note: For more on proximity, check out this article by contributor Elly Blue.]
Kaufman’s next “Tour de Homes” is planned for the Alberta neighborhood in Northeast Portland. The ride will meet at Black Cat Cafe (1203 NE Alberta St) this Sunday (8/17) at 10 am. Reservations are required and space is limited so email kkaufman [at] prunw [dot] com or call (503) 233-9513 if you’d like to come along.