"Less than 2 miles to FrontRunner station," reads an ad for a rental house in Farmington. Reads another for a home near the Layton-Kaysville border: "Close to school, Swan Lakes Golf Course, shopping, HAFB and FrontRunner."

FrontRunner began service April 26, running trains from Salt Lake City to Ogden about every 30 minutes, with stops at five stations - Woods Cross, Farmington, Layton, Clearfield and Roy - in between the two end cities.

Troy Burnett, a principal broker at Keller Williams, said for some homebuyers a location near pubic transportation is a requirement.

"We've literally had clients come in and say we want to be within a certain proximity of a light rail or a FrontRunner terminal," said Burnett, a Farmington resident.

A survey in June by the real estate firm Coldwell Banker of its sales associates working in urban markets showed that clients indicated gas costs were a concern when making housing choices.

Of the 903 sales people surveyed, 78 percent report that higher fuel costs were influencing their clients' decisions on where to live.

Other findings were:

* 81 percent cited minimizing a reduced work commute as a reason for the interest in urban living

* 54 percent agree that access to public transportation is appealing

Dottie Burnham, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent in Bountiful, said it's not just gas prices but also roads built decades ago that were not designed to handle the traffic volume they now receive that are causing Davis County residents to consider transportation concerns as they contemplate where to live.

While residents now can drive to park-and-ride lots at train stations, new hubs with buses linked to rail lines also will influence choices of where to live.

"I think you'll see a lot of that," said Burnham, who added the soon-to-open Legacy Highway connecting Davis to Salt Lake County also will provide transportation options.

Burnett said FrontRunner will allow people to choose homes that might be cheaper than in Salt Lake City and still be able to commute to work on public transportation, a selling point for real estate north of the city.

"It's enlarged our accessibility to the Sale Lake City marketplace for business," he said.

Burnett pointed to a study that showed real estate has a higher appreciation if it is within 500 feet of public transportation.

The Legacy Highway is also creating opportunities to develop new housing, he said.