What is an SRES Agent (Seniors Real Estate Specialist)?

If you're one of the more than 5 million people nearing or past retirement age looking to purchase or sell a home this year, you might be asking how to find the best real estate agent with experience helping more experienced homeowners make a move.

Is there a designation that focuses on working with elders among the 25+ designations that Realtors® can obtain to boost their "skills, competency, and understanding" in specific specialties? Yes. I'd say there is.

One agent designation that every senior home seller and buyer should know about is the SRES label, which stands for Seniors Real Estate Specialist. SRES agents are well-versed in the areas of retirement, downsizing, and more.

What is the SRES certification?

Under the umbrella of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR), the SRES Council offers SRES certification as a two-day training course for licensed Realtors® who want to better serve the needs of retirement-aged homeowners.

The SRES designation training covers topics such as:

• Understanding key life stages, viewpoints, and transitions for the 50+ age demographic
• The real estate opportunities available to those 50+
• Recognizing how to adapt a home for the comfort and safety of seniors
• The ins and outs of reverse mortgages
• Information about retirement real estate investing and estate planning
• Education on federal regulations, like the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA)
• Knowledge of how Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security affect seniors

This training helps agents provide answers to questions that their retirement-aged clients may not even think to ask.

Senior homeowners have different needs, different financial means, and different options available to them than traditional homeowners. So working with an agent who has specific training in meeting these needs definitely has its perks.

Benefits of hiring an SRES-certified agent

Hiring a quality real estate agent to help you with any transaction is very important. But for seniors that have specific needs and life circumstances, having an SRES-certified agent is even more important.

Selling and buying real estate in your senior years brings up a lot of questions you didn’t have to consider when you bought your current home. For example:

• “How will I cover household expenses after I retire?”
• “Should I consider buying property in a 50+ community?”
• “What house features are best for 50+ homeowners?”

The SRES certification teaches agents how to answer these questions and more.

Some of the benefits of hiring an SRES-certified agent include:

• They understand your communication style, especially in terms of the technology you’re comfortable using
• They understand and have empathy that to you, a house isn’t just a house — it’s the home where you spent years making happy memories with your loved ones
• They know how to counsel you through the emotionally difficult process of selling the family home
• They can help you with specific strategies to help you if you’re planning on downsizing
• They have access to retirement planning information and relationships with financial planners
• They can arrange or coordinate all necessary repairs, updates, or staging
• They can offer advice on how to manage household expenses after retirement
• They can offer insights into the senior real estate market
• They can explain the benefits and drawbacks of a 50+ community
• They know what features are best for 50+ homeowners (like stairs and bathroom accessibility)
• They can help with understanding how to position your estate planning so the transition after you pass isn’t a burden on your family

According to NAR data, those in the 57+ age group have spent significantly more time in their previous home than younger age groups. With that amount of time comes a lot of memories, emotional attachments, and sentimental thoughts.

SRES certification training gives agents a wealth of knowledge and insight into the senior real estate market. But does that mean retirees should only hire an agent who has this specific certification? Perhaps not.

Do I need an agent with SRES certification?

There’s an age-old debate between the professional world and the academic world about which is more valuable: experience or education. In the case of SRES certification, actual experience with seniors’ real estate needs usually wins out over academic knowledge gained from certification training.

Does that mean you need to work with an agent born in the same decade as you? While that may be helpful in building a shared understanding and sense of camaraderie, senior agents don’t have the market cornered on an understanding of retiree real estate.

Younger agents may have learned the ropes of helping their own retirement-aged parents sell their home. Others gain this knowledge working alongside seasoned agents at senior-friendly realty companies.

Maybe you’re set on hiring an agent who’s received SRES certification training. Either way, you’ll want to select a seasoned agent with hands-on experience helping seniors sell real estate.

How do I find a top agent with the SRES certification?

Now that you’ve read through and understand the benefits of having an agent with specific knowledge and experience working with seniors, how do you go about finding one? As with hiring any agent, be thorough in your search, and don’t be afraid to interview potential agents and ask specifically about their experience working with seniors.