Loren Keim of Century 21 Keim in Allentown doesn't sell horse properties the way he does homes.

When he gets a residential listing, he advertises it in the newspapers, the multiple-listing service and homes magazines, "and then you pray," he says.

"When you're dealing with a property that's $1 million and that is specific to the horse industry, you're not necessarily going to get your best buyers from Allentown," he says.

Horse owners must be targeted, and so Keim advertises in horse magazines, national and local, and maintains two Web sites, www.pahorseproperties.com and www.equinerealestate.com.

Keim also maintains a database of more than 3,000 people in a three-state area who have an interest in horses.

"About 500 of them have contacted us on and off looking for properties where they can have or have horses," says Keim, 37, who holds a degree from Lehigh University.

Keim started in real estate in 1986 when he went into business with his dad, Loren Sr., a former superintendent of schools in Whitehall Township. They bought the Century 21 franchise when it became available.

The younger Keim soon developed a niche selling historic properties. Some of his buyers and sellers were interested not only in historic farmhouses but also in housing horses and other animals. About three years ago, Keim realized the two interests weren't necessarily the same and decided to further develop a special niche helping horse owners.

"We probably really got into it three years ago, and this past year it's been going crazy," says Keim, whose horse business was featured in the May issue of the Equine Journal.

Keim generally lists horse properties within a two to three-hour drive of his office on Cedar Crest Boulevard.

"Our concentration is in the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia area, including Chester, Bucks and Berks counties and of course, the Poconos and Carbon County. But we do have quite a few counties we have horse properties for sale or have sold in." Unlike home buyers, horse property buyers are open to where they will live, Keim says. "A homebuyer in the Lehigh Valley will say he wants only the Parkland School District where buyers of equestrian properties don't limit themselves to just one area."

Most of his horse property buyers and sellers come from the Internet, Keim says.

"Our Web site, pahorseproperties.com, gets 50 to 60 hits a day for people looking for properties. We get quite a number of hits on equesterianrealestate.com as well. The Internet has become the best source of leads even though we're hitting all the equestrian magazines and newsletters and things like that."

While Keim does more than most, other real estate agents in the Lehigh Valley list horse properties. They include the John Monaghan Group in Kutztown and Carol Dorey Real Estate in Springtown, which last month had two equestrian estates as well as other properties suitable for horses among its listings.

New Pennsylvania Realty in New Ringgold also buys and sells properties suitable for horses. Broker-owner Gary Coles is a member of the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors.