Real Estate Agent Print Checklist
The listing sign and the feature sheet do most of the work. Rider panels that save reprints, stock weight that changes how a property feels, and templates for every future listing.
The listing sign is your highest-impression asset
A listing sign is on a lawn for four to eight weeks. Every neighbour walks past it daily. Every car on the street sees it. Every buyer driving the neighbourhood registers it. Nothing else in your marketing budget generates that many impressions in that specific, highly-qualified catchment.
Double-sided is not optional. A single-sided sign is invisible to half the traffic on the street, and the second side costs far less than the first.
18×24 in is standard; step to 24×36 in for properties set well back from the road or on higher-speed streets. See our lawn sign size guide.
Your name and number should be among the largest elements. A neighbour deciding to call about selling their own place is doing it from the pavement, from memory. Make that easy.
Check your brokerage’s brand rules before designing. Most have specific requirements about logo size, colour and placement relative to your own branding. Send us the brand guide and we will design inside it.
Rider panels: the item that saves the most money
Riders are narrow strips — commonly 6×24 in — that attach above or below the main sign. They are how you change what a sign says without reprinting the sign.
Order a standing set once: SOLD, PENDING, NEW PRICE, OPEN HOUSE, COMING SOON. These are reusable across every listing you handle, indefinitely.
The SOLD rider is the one that markets you. A sold sign left up for a week or two is the strongest possible advertisement to a street full of potential sellers — it is proof rather than a claim.
Personal riders carrying your name and number let you use generic brokerage signs while keeping your own branding visible, which matters if your brokerage supplies signage.
Feature sheets: the thing that gets compared
A buyer visits four properties on a Saturday and lays the feature sheets on a kitchen table that evening. That side-by-side comparison is where a feature sheet earns or loses its cost.
Stock weight does real work here. A flimsy sheet reads as a cheaper listing, fairly or not. A heavier gloss or silk stock costs marginally more per sheet and changes how the property feels in hand. On a listing worth what Ottawa homes are worth, this is not the place to economise.
Photography carries the piece. Print exposes weak images far more than a screen does. If the photography is not strong, more of it is not the answer — fewer, better images are.
Include what buyers actually check: room dimensions, taxes, the essentials that get compared across sheets. Your contact details should be findable without hunting.
Print more than the listing needs. Leave a stack at the property, keep some in the car, and use spares as leave-behinds when prospecting the street.
The supporting pieces
Business cards — real estate runs on referrals and cards get handed over constantly. Heavier stock and a soft-touch finish are worth the small premium here; see finishes.
Open house signage — directional arrows for the intersections leading to the property, plus a sign at the door. Order these as a reusable set with no address on them.
Door hangers and just-listed / just-sold postcards — farming a neighbourhood is still the most reliable lead source in this business, and it leverages a listing you already have. See postcard sizes for the mailing considerations.
Car magnets — your car is parked in the neighbourhoods you work all day. Magnets brand it during work hours and come off at the weekend, which also sidesteps lease questions.
A retractable banner for community events, home shows and office open houses. Order it dateless so it works for years.
Presentation folders for listing appointments. Handing a prospective seller a printed package rather than emailing a PDF materially changes how the pitch lands.
Set it up once, reuse it every listing
The structural insight for realtors is that you are not placing one order — you are placing a small order per listing, indefinitely. So the setup is what matters.
Build templates. Once your sign layout, feature sheet template and postcard design are locked to your branding, each new listing is a fast reprint with new photos and an address rather than a fresh design job. That is the difference between marketing a listing in an afternoon and in a week.
Separate reusable from listing-specific. Riders, open house arrows, banners and folders are bought once and reused forever. Feature sheets and postcards are per-listing. Keeping that distinction clear stops you reprinting things you already own.
Keep the files with one supplier. We hold your templates, brokerage brand rules, colours and stock choices, so a new listing is a one-line request and the output matches everything you have done before. See our real estate package.
Frequently asked questions
What print materials does a real estate agent need?
A double-sided listing sign, a reusable set of rider panels, feature sheets, business cards, open house directional signage, and just-listed/just-sold door hangers or postcards. Car magnets and a dateless retractable banner round out the kit for community events.
What size should a real estate listing sign be?
18×24 in is standard and works for most residential streets. Step up to 24×36 in for properties set well back from the road or on higher-speed streets. Double-sided in either case — a single-sided sign is invisible to half the passing traffic.
What are rider panels and do I need them?
Narrow strips, commonly 6×24 in, attaching above or below the main sign to show SOLD, PENDING, NEW PRICE or OPEN HOUSE. They let you change what a sign says without reprinting it, and a standing set is reusable across every listing indefinitely. They are among the highest-value items on this list.
What paper should feature sheets be printed on?
Something with weight — a heavier gloss or silk stock. A feature sheet gets compared side by side against three or four others on a buyer's kitchen table that evening, and flimsy stock reads as a cheaper listing. The cost difference per sheet is small relative to the listing value.
Do I need to follow my brokerage's branding rules?
Almost certainly, and you should check before designing anything. Most brokerages specify logo size, colour and placement relative to an agent's own branding. Send us the brand guide with your artwork and we will design inside it rather than having to rework it later.
How do I make marketing a new listing faster?
Build templates once. With your sign layout, feature sheet and postcard designs locked to your branding, each new listing becomes a reprint with new photos and an address rather than a design job. Keeping those files with one supplier means a new listing is a one-line request.
Set up your listing kit once
Send your branding and brokerage guidelines. We will build templates for your signs, riders and feature sheets so every future listing is a fast reprint — and quote the reusable pieces separately.