Real estate is the best recurring account category in the sign business. A single productive realtor lists dozens of properties a year; a brokerage office lists hundreds. Every listing needs a sign, signs get weathered, stolen, and left behind — and agents reorder without shopping around once they trust a supplier. Win the account once, and it pays for years.
Here's how to spec, quote, and keep real estate business.
The Standard Spec
The workhorse real estate order is remarkably consistent:
- Size: 18"x24" (the industry standard that fits every frame and stake)
- Material: 4mm coroplast, double-sided
- Hardware: H-stakes, or sized for the agent's existing frames
- Quantities: 10–50 per order for individual agents; 50–250 for offices
24"x36" appears for premium listings and open-house arrows, and 6mm shows up in windy markets. If you need the thickness decision framework: 4mm vs 6mm vs 10mm Coroplast. Full substrate background: Wholesale Coroplast Printing Guide.
The Product Family Around the Sign
Real estate accounts buy an ecosystem, and quoting the whole ecosystem is where account value multiplies:
- Main panels — agent/brokerage branding, the recurring core
- Riders — "Sold," "Open House," "Price Reduced," "Pool" strips that hang from frames; often aluminum for reuse across listings: Real Estate Riders & Frame Inserts on Aluminum
- Open house directionals — arrow-shaped or arrow-printed coroplast, ordered in sets of 5–10
- Stakes and frames — every panel needs mounting: H-Stakes, Frames & Hardware Guide
Brokerage Compliance: The Detail That Wins Offices
Franchise brokerages (and state licensing rules) govern sign appearance — brand colors, logo usage, required license text and equal housing marks. A reseller who asks for the brand kit up front and gets compliance right on the first order becomes the office's default vendor, because the previous vendor probably didn't. Keep each brokerage's template on file; reorders become one-line emails.
Artwork Notes for Real Estate
- Phone number is the hero — readable from a moving car, which means big and bold
- Photos rarely work — headshots at yard-sign scale need high-resolution source files; push agents toward clean typographic layouts when their headshot is a 40KB web image
- Both sides identical — confirm rather than assume; some agents run different messages per side
- Whites and brand colors — franchise brands are strict; proof the first order against the brand kit
Pricing the Account
Individual agents anchor to consumer sign-site pricing; offices anchor to volume. A pattern that works: competitive per-sign pricing at 25+ quantities to win the office, full margin on small agent top-ups, and hardware margin throughout (stakes are the quietest profit line in real estate). The strategy math: How Sign Shops Price Outsourced Work. With free shipping and no minimums, small agent reorders stay profitable instead of becoming favors.
Frequently Asked Questions
What size are standard real estate yard signs? 18"x24" double-sided 4mm coroplast is the standard; 24"x36" serves premium listings and larger frames.
What's a typical first order from a brokerage office? 50–250 panels plus rider sets and directionals — usually triggered by an office rebrand, new agents, or a vendor failure.
Should riders be coroplast or aluminum? Aluminum riders survive reuse across many listings; coroplast riders suit short campaigns and budget orders.
How fast can real estate signs ship? 94.6% of orders ship next business day with free UPS Ground — new-listing timelines are safe.
Win a realtor, keep a book of business. Create your trade account or request a quote.