So What is an SRES?

If you’ve read “About Me” on this blog, you’ll know that I have the SRES® designation. So what is Senior Real Estate Specialist anyway?

The Senior Advantage Real Estate Council that grants the SRES® was founded in 1997 by Tim Corliss, a past president of the California Association of REALTORS. Corliss spent 42 years in real estate and anticipated the senior niche long before the industry recognized what the baby-boomer generation would mean to the housing market. He wanted the Council to focus on the needs of buyers and sellers 50 years of age and older. 50 YEARS OR OLDER? That’s right – the AARP defines senior homebuyers as age 50 or older.

When I first heard of this designation, I was just a year or two shy of my own 50th birthday. I decided right away this was for me. After all, if I wanted to provide exemplary service to my clients in the future, I needed to recognize that I would be aging right along side of them. I, as well as some of my clients, would soon be referred to as "seniors.” Some of my clients? With the baby-boomers hitting 60+, predictions are that in another 10 years, 50% of the population will be 50 or older!

What I hoped the SRES® training would give me was the tools to better relate to and assist the growing senior marketplace. What I didn’t expect was the bonus; I gained the ability to better assist not only these new seniors but also their children, and in some case their parents!