Pedal to Properties, Northampton Style

Snow is still flying in Northampton, Mass., but it is not stopping our newest franchisee, Craig Della Penna, from planting some signs on properties in Pioneer Valley now. Craig will be opening near a local transit station – grand opening is set for National Bike to Work Day in May – and will begin local tours on his soon-to-arrive Pedal to Properties cruiser bikes when the snow clears.

EcoBroker Relationship Grows

Pedal to Properties is now a sponsor of EcoBroker, a green designation for progressive realtors that are interested in working with clients on green issues. Pedal to Properties will host EcoBroker certification courses at its offices, and actively promote the EcoBroker designation with its Realtors, most of which are now certified as EcoBroker agents. Almost 6,000 agents nationwide are certified by EcoBroker, and Pedal to Properties is excited to participate in expanding this number.

Webinar Results

As part of his 2010 Innovation Webinar Series, PCMS Consulting President Jose Perez hosted a thought-provoking conversation with members of Pedal to Properties and Bikes Belong, the nation’s leading bicycle advocacy group, about changing demographic trends, changing consumer and real estate agent expectations and more. If you’d like to watch the webinar, click here.

Real Estate and Cycling, Interesting Facts

If you are interested in cycling, walking or livable community issues – and real estate – you’ll find these facts of interest. A cyclist’s media income is $62,500 versus $46,000 for the average American. Next, homes near bicycle or walking trails sell faster and at higher prices, according to the National Association of Realtors. In fact, realtors cite trails as the second most important community amenity to buyers. Finally, retail bike sales were up 73% in 2008. Connecting these dots, if you are looking to reach affluent home buyers and a growing trend in the U.S., give our Pedal to Properties franchise team a call.

Florida Realtor Covers Pedal to Properties

The Florida Association of Realtors thinks Pedal to Properties makes sense. Check out this article from a recent issue of Florida Realtor Magazine.

Best,
Tim

Don’t forget to check out our blog and the new pedaltoproperties.com.

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San Diego rocked
The National Association of REALTORs® conference, held Nov. 13-16 in San Diego, was all we could have hoped for plus more. We were located in the Green Pavilion along with other green-focused businesses, scheduled bike tours throughout the weekend, and got a great reception from the 7,000 or so attendees. Many thanks to Ricky Schoonover, a local real estate pro, and members of our PCMS franchise team, for helping out on the tours, which took attendees through the Gaslamp District and along the waterfront before returning to the Omni Hotel across from the Convention Center.

Our PCMS franchise sales team is diligently following up on conversations with realtors from around the nation who expressed interest at NAR.  Many stopped by our booth in San Diego to take a look at what we have to offer from a franchise standpoint – including our brand, web platform, and green practices – and now they want to know more. By end of this month, we fully expect to pass on some great news about new Pedal to Properties franchises in markets outside Colorado.

We love it when we get noticed. Riley Stephens, publisher of Real Estate Weekly, said Pedal to Properties might have been one of the most creative things he noticed at NAR. See for yourself.

And the Pedal to Properties Cruiser Bike winners are…
Wow, almost 10% of the entire attendee conference stopped by to enter a drawing for one of two Pedal to Properties Cruiser bikes in San Diego! And the lucky winners were Bill Sill, Broker/Owner of Bill Sill Realtors, Austin, TX and Joani Gruczkowski, Vice President of Sales, Parkside Properties of Atlanta, GA. Bikes were shipped to Bill and Joani so they didn’t have to ride home from San Diego. Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. Since we wanted everyone who entered to know who won, we’ve added you to our email list. I send out “Wheel Estate” updates twice a month. If you’d like to be dropped from our updates, just click unsubscribe below.

More than bikes…
If you have not checked out our web site, I suggest you do. As we say at our flagship office in Colorado, we are so much more than bikes. Yes, we love the bikes and know they give a buyer a unique perspective, but we think our web platform is as useful to consumers as there is in the industry. Check out the Media Center for some testimonials and tour videos and check out our new iPhone update technology.

Become a fan: Pedal to Properties on Facebook!
Don’t forget to stop by our Pedal to Properties Facebook page and click “Become a fan.” It’s a great way to get to know us.  If you got any good photos from San Diego, please add them to your Facebook page and tag them or post stories or comments on our wall.

Google Maps to add ‘bike there’ directions
Google is adding bike paths to its online mapping tool, and expects to make biking directions available soon. Check it out.

Happy Holidays,

Tim Subscribe to the Wheel Estate Updates

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Pedal to Properties NAR update
We’re very excited to take the Pedal to Properties model to the streets in San Diego. If you happen to be in San Diego for the National Association of REALTORS® Conference Nov. 13-16, stop by our booth #2341 in the Green Pavilion, say hello, and sign up for one of leisurely tours with Ricky Schoonover, a local real estate pro, Pedal to Properties’ Found Matt Kolb, myself, and members of our PCMS franchise team.

Many thanks to Ricky for his help in San Diego during NAR.  A native San Diegan, Ricky graduated from Granite Hills High School before serving in the U.S. Navy as a helicopter air crewman rescue swimmer from 1994 through 2000. He got his real estate license in 2003, and now he’s with Premier Mortgage & Real Estate.  He’s mapped out a fun tour through the Gaslamp District for NAR attendees who sign up for a tour, which will start and end at the Omni San Diego Hotel across the street from the conference center.

Pedal to Properties NAR update
Great news! For homebuyers looking to purchase a new home, the federal government has just expanded the homebuyer tax credit for qualified current homeowners. You must contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010. Time is of the essence. To learn more about additional restrictions and eligibility requirements, talk to our PCMS franchise team or give Pedal to Properties a call at 888-880-1949.

Become a fan: Pedal to Properties is on Facebook!
Users of the popular social networking site can become fans of Pedal to Properties, read updates and advice from our brokers, view upcoming events, and discuss real estate and sustainability. Our new Facebook page also features several photo galleries that show off our fleet of cruiser bikes and video interviews. Simply click here to see the Pedal to Properties Facebook page, sign into your account and click “Become a fan.” It’s a great way to get to know us, and a fun way to keep tabs on the company as we prepare to add dozens of new franchises over the next year.

‘But we live in a hilly area’
There is a key word in the Pedal to Properties model that we want to stress – optional. As in, the bike tours are optional. We’ve heard from buyers for years that checking out a neighborhood via one of our cruiser bikes is an awesome way to get a true sense of the neighborhood, but the tour is not mandatory nor is it an athletic event. Often, we’ll transport people to a certain section of town, unload the bikes, check out the neighborhood, load up, and move on to another section. If the weather is not great or an area is hilly, no problem, as we just drive to the home to check it out.

Don’t forget to check out our blog, linked from the new pedaltoproperties.com.

-Tim

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Pedal to Properties franchise deal
If you were to guess where the first official Pedal to Properties franchise were to be set up (in addition to our flagship Boulder Pearl Street office), you’d probably guess the location would be a college or beach town, right? Guess again. Proving that the Pedal to Properties model is appropriate for a wide of range of cities and towns, our first “outside Boulder” franchise will be in a small Rocky Mountain community known more for its world-class skiing than anything. But this town also has a great downtown, where thousands of tourists and locals will stream by the office each day. We’re in a “quiet period” with the franchisee now, but details to be revealed shortly.  As the new franchisee said:  “We have snow on the ground for four to five months each year, but our brand will still be new, unique and will connect with our active locals and tourists. We’ll use our cars in the winter and when it warms up, hit the streets with our distinctive, optional Pedal to Properties tours. No problem at all.”

NAR update: Tours a go
Not only are we going to the National Association of Realtors trade show in San Diego in two weeks as an exhibiter, but we plan on taking brokers and agents and others in attendance on a series of our signature Pedal to Properties tours. It’s going to be a blast to see and hear what’s going on in real estate and to show the industry something truly new, smart and different. See you at the conference and stop by the booth to sign up for a cruiser tour. The schedules for tours includes: 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on both Saturday, Nov. 14, and Sunday, Nov. 15. If you or someone you knows wants to go on a leisurely cruise of downtown San Diego with the Pedal to Properties team, give a call at 303-444-4643. Or just stop by our booth 2341 in NAR’s Green Pavilion to sign up.

Pedal to Properties set to franchise nationwide
After jumping through the legal hurdles to franchise nationwide, Pedal to Properties is ready to rock in states across the country. If you know someone who is progressive, willing to stand out, and wants to connect with a successful brand, put them in contact with our capable franchise sales team, PCMS Consulting.

If you think Pedal to Properties is on to something, it’s because we are. There will be skeptics who say bikes are toys for kids, but there is a wave crossing the country that includes slowing down our lives and living in more connected, friendly neighborhoods. Check out this very cool movement, called “Livable Streets Initiative” if you don’t believe me. And there are news like this  New York Times story, that say more and more business travelers are traveling with bikes or renting them when they arrive at their destination so they can really see the community.

Thanks everyone for pushing the Pedal to Properties energy to the streets. And don’t forget to add a link to our blog, linked from the new pedaltoproperties.com.

Tim

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New PedaltoProperties.com goes live!
As of today, the completely overhauled Pedal to Properties web site is up and running. It includes extensive features and benefits for home buyers and sellers as well as agents and franchisees. The site will evolve over the next 30 days as we populate more of the exciting features that will help Pedal to Properties stand above a crowded marketplace, such as our Media section, which will include tour videos, customer testimonials – not staged, but real comments – that will help agents and consumers to understand this is truly a new way to buy and sell real estate.

See you at NAR next month
It’s official, Pedal to Properties has locked in to be an exhibiter (Booth 2341) at the National Association of Realtors annual conference to be held in San Diego this year on Nov. 13-16. You’ll find the Pedal to Properties team in the Green Pavilion, featuring some of the most innovative, green concepts emerging in real estate today.

PCMS Consulting gears up …
The PCMS Consulting team, a group of experienced real estate professionals who are marketing Pedal to Properties to prospective franchisees, is in place and reaching out to real estate professionals interested in this smart, green and profitable concept that helps agents connect with a growing group of consumers who want to live “on the grid,” closer to parks, schools, mass transit, work and stores so they can walk and bike to get where they are going.  If anyone needs proof that this concept is working, our Boulder Pearl Street office has doubled in agent count in the last two months.

… and Media catching on
If there are any questions whether the timing for Pedal to Properties is right, check out these recent stories in Parade Magazine, read by millions of Americans everyday Sunday, this clip from National Public Radio about real estate and commuting trends and how they tie together; and this story from the Denver Post that highlights an initiative that is sweeping major metro areas called Living Streets. Check out the stats in Post article that say when a city makes its streets more walk and bike friendly, retail sales soar as do real estate values.

Thanks everyone for pushing the Pedal to Properties energy to the streets. And don’t forget to add or link to our blog, linked from the new pedaltoproperties.com.

-Tim

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