Home offices are more popular than ever before and the real estate industry is a good example of a profession that uses them extensively with more than 70 percent of Realtors reporting they have a room or area at home set aside for business.

"Buyers often have a room for a home office on their shopping list, even if they have traditional jobs and work at them all day. They like to have a place to have their computer at home," said Erin Benford, a Realtor with Windermere Silicon Valley Properties, who spends about half her time at home and half at the company office.

For Benford it's about efficiency. If she is out in the field, she finds it may be wiser to work at the office than drive all the way back home. On the other hand if she doesn't have an appointment, staying at home to work is a good option.

"If I don't have to go anywhere, it takes less time, and now also less gas, to park my laptop in the home office for a few hours of the day. When I'm working on the paperwork phase of a transaction, it's more convenient to do it all at the office where the high speed scanner and copier is, plus extra forms that I can't get online," Benford said.

One of the biggest challenges with having a laptop is that the "office" can be accessed at any time of the day.

"If I think of something early in the morning or late at night, I can send an email out instantly to a client or coworker," Benford said. "If I were a workaholic, this would be very dangerous. To have this instant access to work, one must be very disciplined about setting aside personal time and space."

Realtor Susan Fagan of Intero Real Estate Services in Los Gatos also believes discipline is the key if an agent is to work successfully at home.

"Don't turn on the TV, no daytime talk shows, no soap operas, no Court TV," said Fagan, who works out of her home office about 75 percent of the time. "I find that I am very productive at home where I am alone in a quiet environment. I am able to concentrate on phone conversations with clients, prepare advertising, answer client email, search the MLS, and prepare a Marketing Analysis."

Fagan's home office is fully equipped with a computer, printer, copier and fax. She can get all real estate forms online so she has access to any and all paperwork that is necessary.

"A home office is very important to buyers now. We are finding more and more people work out of their home at least part of the time. An extra bedroom or den usually serves as the home office. People like to spread out and there is less satisfaction with a work space in the kitchen or family room than with a room designated as a home office," Fagan said.

Realtor Stephen Keese of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos has a set up at home for his computer. He uses it about an hour a night since he does most of his real estate business at the office or in his car.

"About a third of our clients ask for a home office. My impression is that most don't plan to operate a business exclusively from home but that some do. All of them have and plan to use computers at home," Keese said.

A home office is imperative for Realtor Diane Pfeffer with Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos.

"It would not be practical to always have to run to the office to access a computer in order to answer questions regarding properties. Today's clients are very savvy and almost everyone has a computer. Clients expect information quickly," Pfeffer said.

With many purchase contracts ratified late in the evening, Pfeffer finds it necessary to have the ability to either fax or send documents both to clients and other agents immediately. "In a hot real estate market, time is of the essence," she said.

Lender Neil Reid with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in Los Gatos agrees.

"So much of my business is my relations with my Realtors and I need to be available 24/7 for our mutual clients. At least 50 percent or more of real estate transactions happen over the weekend and it is imperative for me and my clients that I am available to provide loan information, as well as an approval letter if an offer is being made," Reid said.

A home office works well for Patti Mauseth of Alain Pinel Realtors in Los Gatos since she feels she can be more productive at home where it's quiet.

"It has been an important criterion for our buyers to have an office area. We're finding more of our clients are working on laptops with wireless Internet connections," Mauseth said.

Broker/owner Dennis Byron of Byron & Associates believes the big office is going the way of the dinosaur, but working from home does come with a caveat.

"With today's Internet no one knows who has a big fancy office or who works out of their home. Much of the time we need to be mobile while working and are not sitting in the office anyway," Byron said.