Fact: Baby boomers comprise 40 percent of the U.S. workforce.

Fact: Baby boomers control 50 percent of all discretionary spending in the United States.

Fact: Baby boomers hold 70 percent of the nation’s wealth.

On Oct. 15, 2007, Kathleen Casey-Kirschling, who was born on New Year’s Day in 1946, became the first baby boomer to retire and apply for Social Security benefits. Now, nearly 10,000 of the nation’s estimated 78 million baby boomers retire each day.

For the past year, Len Elder has been teaching one of the hottest courses at Hogan School of Real Estate Inc.: How to sell real estate to seniors. It’s officially called the Seniors Real Estate Specialists Designation course.

But Elder, who holds a law degree from Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio, and has served as president of the Southern Chapter of the Arizona Association of Mortgage Brokers, thinks the course offers important lessons to anyone in business - not just real estate agents — about selling to baby boomers.

"We know that baby boomers are redefining retirement," Elder said. "They don’t plan to ever stop working and they’re buying vacation properties and second homes at record paces. Nationally 23 percent of baby boomers own more than one property."

And Elder said every indication is that Southern Arizona will get its share, if not more, of retiring baby boomers. "All projections are for population increases here," he said.

For example, Elder pointed out the Tucson area is still adding 700 to 800 new households every month, despite the poor housing market nationally. While that is a "slowing of growth" from a high of about 1,200 a month, he said it is still an increase, unlike many other places in the country that are experiencing decreases.

Elder said the biggest chunk of business here is comprised of people buying resort and second homes and a "good portion of what’s going on here is attributable to baby boomers."

It is estimated about 40 percent of the 9,000 homes currently on the market are investment properties.

"At sales of 700 to 800 per month, it doesn’t take long to wipe out an inventory of 9,000," Elder said.

He said baby boomers look at real estate as their "primary investment tool" because they have created much of their wealth on equity in real estate. The fact that new household growth in Tucson has slowed doesn’t necessarily mean baby boomers have given up on buying property as an investment.

Tucson’s slowing housing market has a lot do with problems elsewhere and Elder says it’s difficult to determine whether the current housing market trends have scared baby boomers out of investing here or that they are simply "stuck in another market."

Unlike previous generations of retirees who may have come to Tucson to look for a mobile home as their winter second home, baby boomers are opting for resort homes and larger second homes with amenities like golf courses, hiking trails and nearby outdoor activities, Elder said.

Often referred to as the "sandwich generation" because they have an aging parent living with them as well as one or more children who already have reached the age of majority, baby boomers often seek out roomier properties to accommodate these extended families, Elder said.

They "buy to lifestyle," looking for homes that can accommodate their hobbies and have a home office where they can continue to work. They also are more conscious of universal design standards that feature maximum accessibility.

"Baby boomers often buy homes as an investment, but with the intention of eventually living there themselves after retirement," Elder said.

But whether you’re in real estate or some other business, Elder said, you’d better know what baby boomers are looking for if you want to succeed. For example, Elder said, baby boomers:

• Don’t like to be told what to do. He recommends giving them all of the alternatives and then asking, "What would you like to do?"

• Want to create partnerships with "trusted advisors," whether it is CPAs, attorneys, architects or real estate agents.

• Require totally different marketing approaches than previous senior populations, who generally were not users of email and the Internet. Baby boomers often check available properties online from other parts of the country before coming to Tucson to buy, so smart real estate agents will have websites boomers can search prior to their arrival here.

• Have specific impressions and beliefs that may be quite different from those of younger generations. For example, they prefer to get things in writing and do business via email, while younger generations may prefer text messaging. And if you are meeting in person with a boomer and your cell phone rings and you answer it, the boomer probably considers that rude. On the other hand, if you are meeting with someone from a younger generation and didn’t answer your cell phone, that person probably would say, "It’s someone who needs you — you should answer the call."

Because of longer life expectancies, Elder said, "we are seeing a broader spectrum of generations than has ever existed and each generation looks at things very differently.

"Even if your business has been successful in the past, you can’t expect to keep doing the same old stuff and continue to have it work," Elder said. "You need to build practices that take advantage of the changes that are happening. You need to create a business that not only recognizes each generation, but is flexible enough to meet people on their own terms."

Contact reporter Ed Egger at eegger@azbiz.com or (520) 295-4238.