Courtesy of Susan Hindman

To twist a saying, a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES)® is not your father’s real estate agent.

An SRES isn’t focused on a quick sale; the older homeowner might even be encouraged not to sell. The SRES, instead, builds a relationship with the homeowner, learning what that person needs and when, and helping them reach that point, whether it involves a move or just modifications to the existing home so the person can age in place—with full knowledge that a sale might not happen until further down the road. It’s a diverse job, not for someone interested in simply exchanging contracts and moving on. It’s about building relationships and being an asset in the decision-making process.

The move to a different approach with senior home buyers and sellers began in 1996, when the late Tim Corliss, a Franciscan monk-turned-realtor in California, started the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council. The SRES designation was established, and three years ago, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) took over managing the designation.

To get it, real estate agents attend two days of classes, where they learn about housing options, such as age-restricted communities, aging-in-place design, and assisted living; reverse mortgages and other financing options; tax laws; and even how to protect clients from scams that target senior borrowers.

Equally important, they learn how to build a team of professionals to help guide their clients to making the best decision for their situation. That team is made up of elder law attorneys, CPAs, and tax advisors, along with professional painters, landscapers, handymen, roofers, movers, and haulers who can help with maintenance that’s likely been deferred. Agents get to know the local retirement facilities as well, since some of their clients won’t necessarily be moving into another house.

“The team is critically important,” said SRES instructor Debbie Rodgers, owner of Coaching to Excellence, a California-based company that provides courses and seminars for real estate professionals. “Seniors may not have sold or purchased a home in a number of years. We have to process information with that client differently, give more explanation. . . . If they’ve owned a home for 30 years or longer, they probably used a one-page contract. Today, we have mounds of paperwork.”

With the market “about to explode with the baby boomer population,” the NAR is preparing its members for that, said Heidi Henning, managing director for the NAR. The Web site is being updated with an online community for members and more resources for consumers, and will debut in early 2010. A new, free 20-page booklet called “Moving On” has also been created for consumers. The booklet gives resource information to those helping a loved one transition and to those who are transitioning themselves—from housing and financing options to adapting a home for aging in place. 

Realtors aren't averse to helping a client age in place. “That is part of the process,” said Henning. “Many SRES designees are focusing on becoming a resource for families facing a situation. . . . For many of the people working with seniors, it’s not just a job, it’s a lifestyle.”

Rodgers agrees. “Most people who take the course with me will tell me the reason they work with seniors is the passion and warmth they feel when they help someone who truly needs their assistance.” That extends to protecting them from harm. “I get one or two calls a year from past students who suspect financial abuse (of their client) and are asking what they should do or what the senior should do,” she said.

Realtors taking the class are all ages, Rodgers says, though “the majority are seniors themselves. But every now and then, I get a generation Xer in there, not a boomer. They usually have a warm spot in their heart for seniors and really want to provide a special service for them.”

Buying and selling trends

If you haven’t heard of an SRES, you’re not alone. A 2006 study of senior buyers and sellers conducted by the SRES Council, the national organization that confers SRES designation to realtors, found that only 12% of buyers and 5% of sellers reported knowing that real estate professionals received special designations or training.

But the number of realtors holding this designation has grown to nearly 16,000. With the vast over-50 crowd entering their senior years, the low public awareness figures may change when the study is updated in 2010. 

Other numbers came from the 2006 study, which was conducted to determine the trends of buying and selling among homeowners age 50 and over. Key findings showed the following:

• The majority of senior sellers do not relocate far from their primary residence. Cumulatively, 25% moved 12 miles or less, 50% relocated 25 miles or less, and 56% moved 50 miles or less. Only 31% moved more than 100 miles away.
• Reasons for selling varied depending on the age. Younger seniors (50-64) said they were seeking a better neighborhood, shortening a commute, or disposing of a second home. Seniors 65 and over were searching for a better quality of community services, more affordable housing, and more community activities.
• Why were they buying? For similar reasons. Younger seniors were looking for a better neighborhood, a shorter commute, or a second home. Older seniors wanted better community services and affordable housing.
• Where were they buying? Fifty-nine percent of the 50-64 age group and 78% of age 65+ purchased homes in the suburbs. Both rural and urban purchases were way down. Resort purchases came in last, at 5% in both age groups.
• Eight states constituted 51% of the senior property purchases: California, Florida, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and Arizona. Eighty-seven percent of all purchases were made by seniors who stayed in the same state.
• Six states constituted 51% of the senior property sold: California, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New Jersey. Two-thirds of that was in just two states, California and New York. Of those who sold their homes, 82% stayed in the same state.
• Forty-two percent of senior sellers and 64% of senior buyers used the Internet as part of their selling or buying process.