Newman, director of the David Findlay Jr. art gallery on 57th Street, and Ferate, president/owner of Tours of the City, wanted something in an urban location because "we're city folk, Newman said.

First, they tried places within a half-hour of New York City. Then an hour. Then 2 hours. Eventually they found themselves in Lancaster, which they had once visited for a Demuth Foundation event.

"We fell in love with it, he said.

About a year ago, they bought a 150-year-old town house on East Orange Street; they come down a couple of weekends a month, Newman said.

"In our first 24 hours here, we got to know more of our neighbors than we know in New York. "It's been a real delight, Ferate said.

Newman and Ferate are just two of the buyers who have made the higher end of the city housing market, the $100,000-plus range, so busy that agents report there's not enough inventory to meet demand.

It's not uncommon for some of these homes to be listed only a matter of days before they're sold. Some of the homeowners are local, but others, such as Newman and Ferate, are from East Coast states and like the value, and architectural variety, Lancaster offers.

Upscale market sizzling Andy Esbenshade, an agent with Coldwell Banker Homesale Services Group, said houses priced at $100,000 and up, a market he considers upscale, are increasingly in big demand in the city.

In his spring 2004 newsletter, in fact, Esbenshade reports such "high-end-caliber homes are "a rare find in today's market. The $100,000 to $180,000 market is especially hot, he said.

A lot of these houses are in the west end, but some can be found in neighborhoods such as East Orange and North Shippen streets, Esbenshade said.

Many of the homes also are at least a century old, give or take a few years, said Esbenshade, a city resident. Some have undergone considerable work, while others are "fixer-uppers, he said.

The buyers often are professional couples and singles, he said. Franklin & Marshall College's City Life program had been a definite plus, Esbenshade said. (See related story.) "In the past month, I sold houses to two F&M people. But the city also is drawing outsiders. "The value in the city vs. elsewhere is a huge selling point, Esbenshade said.

"You get more house for the money. Louis Newman said the Lancaster town house they bought would sell for $1.5 million if it were in Greenwich Village. "There's nothing of that quality at those prices except in Lancaster, he said.

Houses selling quickly In the past few years, the market has "changed remarkably, Esbenshade said.

Houses are selling quickly, sometimes in a matter of days, and are often getting "very close to the asking price, he said.

Jeff LeFevre remembers what it was like when he began his career in real estate in the late 1970s.

"I started in Old Town in 1977, said LeFevre, an agent with Coldwell Banker Homesale Services Group.

"That was one of the first projects [with houses] over $100,000 in the city, he said.

Today, he said, houses from $100,000 to about $225,000 "are difficult to find. ... I wish we had more. [The market's] been great. Like Esbenshade, he said the City Life program is making an impact. "I just searched [listings], and there are only 18 in the city between $100,000 and $200,000. He said there's a lot of interest in the city's historic district. "Lancaster is one of the most well-preserved cities of its size on the East Coast. "The incredible wealth of architecture is a big selling point, LeFevre said, especially among out-of-towners.

Bill Puffer, co-owner of Puffer Morris Real Estate, said he also is seeing a city boom.

Because inventory is being gobbled up, "There's a great shortage of good homes on the market.

For years, he said, Lancaster's houses were undervalued compared to other cities, even after private money was pumped into areas like Old Town.

But now they are appreciating at a healthy rate, although they're still less expensive than in other urban areas, making them a great deal for buyers. "There are some fantastic values here. Houses that used to be $125,000 to $150,000 "are now in the $200,000 range, Puffer said.

Even sub-$100,000 homes are appreciating, he said.

The city is drawing retired people and "lots of professional couples and singles to the west end, the east end and Old Town, Puffer said.

Some are county residents, but Lancaster continues to bring in newcomers "from all up and down the East Coast, he said.

"Lancaster represents an unusual value. Puffer said there are still people wary of city living, and he jumps at the chance to convince them otherwise.

All it takes is a half-hour of showing them around Lancaster, he said, and "I can change their perceptions.