While many area real estate agents have jumped on the bandwagon of working with the growing Baby Boomer homebuying population, a smaller but growing number of New England Realtors are carving a niche for themselves in an important market with sellers who possess even more life experience: senior citizens.

Recognizing that the needs of a senior citizen about to sell his or her home may differ greatly from the needs of a Baby Boomer just a few years younger, one group has developed the Senior Real Estate Specialist Realtor designation for agents who want to focus on that market.

Based in California where the designation is widely popular, the Senior Advantage Real Estate Council began offering the designation on a national level about two years ago and there are about 3,500 designees from coast to coast. Local Realtor organizations have reported that only a handful of their members have the designation so far, but SRES-certified agents say it’s only a matter of time before it becomes almost as common as the Certified Residential Specialist or Graduate Realtor Institute designations.

“I don’t think this is something Realtors have been jumping on, but I think more of them will because the senior citizen population is becoming a larger piece of the market,” said Robert E. Humphrys of Jack Conway & Co. in Canton, who said he was among the first in Eastern Massachusetts to earn the designation.

“New England is always slower to catch on the wave,” said Rhoda B. Winik, co-owner of Winik-Martin Real Estate in Guilford, Conn. “The West Coast is usually quicker on these things, but we always have different approaches.”

‘Extra Care’

Winik said it takes a certain type of agent to work successfully with seniors because of their different needs. In her office, she selected agent Carol Reilly for the program.

“You need to have sensitivity training,” she said. “It’s a long, labored relationship [with the client] that requires patience and understanding.”

“I’m a senior myself, and seniors have needs that aren’t the same,” said Joseph Crowley, broker/owner of Century 21 Crowley in Woburn who earned the designation earlier this year.

“They’re more interested in what the capital gains will be on their properties, they may want to know what will happen if they own rental properties, and they may also be interested in retirement properties,” he said. “It’s all a matter of doing things so seniors are made to feel more comfortable about the transaction.

“As these people get older, they realize they haven’t been in the real estate market for 30 years and they’re a little skittish about it,” he continued. “They’d like to know that there’s someone there who has empathy, and will do more than the ordinary agent would do for them.”

“It’s all about making the senior feel more comfortable,” Humphrys said. “So many people are taking advantage of senior citizens these days, they like to know that you’re not out to [swindle] them.”

Because many senior home sellers are moving to assisted living or nursing facilities, Winik said an important part of an SRES designee’s job is coordinating all of the factors surrounding that transition.

“A lot of these people are living alone or maybe they’re a couple,” she said. “They have limitations. They can’t just pack up and leave.” Sales often have to be timed with vacancies in assisted living facilities or other residences, she said. Additionally, many times the agent will have to assist in the disposition of many of the senior’s possessions if she or he is moving to a much smaller living unit.

Seniors not relocating to extended-care facilities also have special needs, she said. For example, finding housing near a bus stop and stores is important for a senior who has given up driving.

“And though you normally wouldn’t do this with other clients, you’ll want to call up family members to make sure they understand what’s going on to give them peace of mind,” she continued. “Plus, they may also be legally in charge of some affairs, so they have to be notified.”

“Most of them bring a family member along, and I encourage that,” Humphrys said. “It makes everyone more comfortable.”

Winik added that because seniors don’t have the pressure of a job change or getting their children into a new school system at a certain date, the home-selling process often takes a more leisurely pace to which some Realtors might not be familiar.

To gain the SRES designations, agents must prove they have already completed a minimum number of transactions with older homebuyers and sellers, attend extensive training sessions and take a test. These factors, combined with a potentially slower-paced home-selling process and having to deal with senior citizen-related issues, undoubtedly results in much more effort on the part of the Realtor, SRES designees agree. However, they added that working with seniors can provide advantages even though a similarly sized commission could be earned quicker working with younger clients.

“Seniors have put in their time, they served their country. They should be recognized for their efforts. Why shouldn’t we spend a little more time with them?” Crowley said, adding that his company also offers a discount on services to senior citizens.

“I enjoy working with the elderly,” Humphrys said. “They have so many stories. I enjoy listening to what it was like in the ‘good ol’ days.’ I know it sounds corny, but I like talking to them.”

“There’s a special reward that comes with knowing you helped someone out,” Winik said. “People can’t thank you enough.”

‘Marketing Tool’
In addition to just feeling good, agents also said the senior citizen population presents a lot of potential, as it is a largely untapped market. Seniors, they said, also tend to be extremely loyal if they have had a good experience with a particular agent, and will refer friends and family to them.

Additionally, agents and offices are able to use the new SRES designation as a marketing tool.

“We made up a brochure describing the new program and sent it to people in the area who were 55 and over,” Winik said. “We got some response from that.” She added that seniors took more time to read the brochures, making that method of marketing more effective.

“There’s so much activity right now that [agents] can’t take care of what they’ve already got, but there’s going to be a lot of these [senior citizen-related sales] coming up soon,” he said. “They’re going to need the extra care. A lot of Realtors won’t want that, but it’s going to be a significant part of the market.”