Real Estate Corflute Signs in Australia: A Designer's and Agent's Guide
Real estate is the largest single use case for corflute signage in Australia. A typical agency runs through hundreds of signs a year. Listings, auctions, opens, sold stickers, agent profile boards. The economics of that volume are the reason corflute became the category default decades ago, and they are the reason the format hasn't been displaced by anything newer. For sign shops and trade resellers fulfilling agency orders, real estate is steady, predictable, high-frequency work.
This guide is written for trade customers: the sign shops, designers and resellers who fulfil real estate signage for agents and agencies. The aim is to give you the technical and practical knowledge to advise your agency clients well, head off common artwork problems before they reach our prepress queue, and quote with confidence on the work that comes through your door each week. Where useful, the article also flags what to push back on with your clients, so the file that lands with us is print-ready first time.
For the comprehensive overview of corflute signage in Australia, see the complete guide to corflute signs in Australia. This article is the focused companion piece on real estate.
Why corflute became the standard for Australian real estate signage
Corflute did not become the real estate signage default by accident. Four things converged to make it the obvious choice, and they still hold today.
Cost per piece at volume
Real estate runs on volume. An active agency might cycle 50 to 200 signs a month across active listings, with seasonal spikes during spring and autumn campaigns. Corflute's sheet-based pricing model rewards that volume, which is what lets you build healthy reseller margins on top of trade pricing while still quoting your agency clients competitively. Standard sizes tile efficiently into the master sheet, and the per-piece price drops sharply at production runs that real estate work hits comfortably.
Outdoor durability matches campaign cycles
A typical printed corflute sign holds up for 12 to 24 months under Australian conditions. That window covers almost any listing campaign from sign-up to sale, with margin for relisting. The substrate outlasts the campaign, the print outlasts most listing periods, and replacement is cheap when a sign does need refreshing.
Frame compatibility
The 600 × 900mm size is the most common Australian real estate frame format, and most agency frames in the market accommodate it. Frame specifications do vary by manufacturer, so for clients using non-standard or custom hardware it's worth confirming the specific frame dimensions before locking artwork. The hardware ecosystem broadly (frames, stakes, A-frames, mounting brackets) assumes corflute as the substrate. Specifying anything else means custom hardware, which means cost, which means it doesn't happen at scale.
Easy replacement
A damaged or sun-faded sign can be reprinted and back on the property in under a week without major cost. Compare that to ACM, aluminium or other rigid signage where replacement is a much larger commitment. For a category like real estate where signs cycle constantly and damage happens (vandalism, weather, accidental impact), the easy-replacement model is not just convenient. It is the only model that works at scale.
Other rigid signage materials (ACM, foamboard, PVC banner) have their place for premium or longer-term installations, but for the cost, durability and handling balance of typical real estate work, corflute wins.
Standard sizes for real estate corflute
Two standard sizes do almost all the work in Australian real estate signage, plus custom sizes for premium project work. Each size ties to a specific application and the per-piece economics that drive that application's volume.
600 × 900mm: the property-frontage workhorse
The standard for agency property-frontage signs. Sits close to A1 paper (which is 594 × 841mm) but slightly larger and a different aspect ratio. Used for property listing signs, agent profiles at the front of a property, sold and leased headers — the signs that need to be visible from the road and across the front yard. Yields 5 per master sheet, which gives strong per-piece economics for typical agency volumes.
600 × 450mm: auction boards and A-frame inserts
Half the height of the 600 × 900mm size. Sits close to A2 paper. The dominant size for auction boards, A-frame inserts at opens, and smaller property listings — anywhere the sign is read at closer range or doesn't need full road visibility. Yields 10 per master sheet, which means the per-piece price is roughly half the 600 × 900mm size for the same material cost. For trade customers running mixed real estate volume, this is often the largest-quantity size on the order book even though the 600 × 900mm gets more attention.
Custom larger sizes for premium developments
Project marketing for new developments sometimes calls for larger boards: hoarding panels, display boards in sales suites, large signage at the front of an active project. Custom sizes are available within the 2400 × 1200mm cut limit. Pricing is driven by sheet yield, so larger custom sizes use more substrate per sign and tile less efficiently. The trade-off is usually worth it for hero campaign signage where the visual presence matters more than per-piece cost.
For a deep dive on the Australian standard corflute sizes and how sheet yield drives pricing across the cluster, see our reference guide to standard corflute sign sizes.
The single-sided vs double-sided question
This is the most important section in this article and the one most likely to save you a delayed order. Most agency property-frontage signs are double-sided so the listing reads to traffic from both directions of the road. Single-sided real estate signs do exist, but they are a minority of the use case. The trade customers who handle this conversation cleanly with their agency clients save themselves rework, and the ones who don't end up explaining delays on a Friday afternoon.
Mediapoint's Corflute Print Only product is single-sided only. For double-sided agency boards, you need our Corrugated Plastic product. When agency artwork lands with you set up as a double-sided file but the order has been raised against single-sided, the file goes back for rework, and your agency client's Saturday open is at risk. The fix is simple: confirm the product type with your client at the brief stage, before any artwork starts.
When single-sided Corflute Print Only is the right product
Signs visible from one direction only. T-intersection properties, end-of-cul-de-sac listings, and any frontage where traffic only approaches from one side. Auction boards mounted flat against a wall or fence. Picket signs on stakes (foot traffic reads from one direction). Interior office display boards including open inspection direction signs and agent profile boards in agency lobbies. Sold and leased stickers or headers added to existing signs. Window display boards behind glass.
When you need double-sided
Standard property-frontage signs visible from both directions of the road. Sandwich boards with print on both faces. A-frame inserts where both faces are read by foot traffic. Hanging signs in stairwells or ceiling-mounted display. For all of these, order through our Corrugated Plastic product instead of Corflute Print Only.
If you are not sure on a particular job
The cost difference between single-sided and double-sided is not dramatic at typical agency volumes. If a client brief is ambiguous about visibility from both directions, get in touch before locking the artwork. A two-minute conversation up front is much cheaper than reissuing artwork on a Friday afternoon.
What to advise your agency clients on design
Trade customers handling real estate work fall into two camps: the ones who design the artwork in-house, and the ones whose agency clients (or their freelance designers) supply finished files. This section covers what matters either way. If you're designing in-house, these are the rules. If you're receiving client artwork, these are the things worth checking before files reach our prepress queue.
Photography reproduction
Property photography and agent headshots are the visual centre of most real estate signs. CMYK conversion can shift skin tones (often more orange or pink than RGB previews suggest), and outdoor UV exposure shifts colour over the life of the sign. Build files in CMYK from the start rather than converting from RGB at the end. If a client supplies an RGB-built file with a high-stakes agent headshot, push back. The two minutes spent converting and soft-proofing in Photoshop saves the agent from a sign with the wrong skin tone going up across their territory. For agent headshots specifically, request high-resolution source files from the photographer. Website-grade JPEGs are 72 to 150dpi and look noticeably soft when scaled to fill a 600 × 900mm sign at 300dpi. The agency may not realise the headshot they've been using on their website isn't fit for print until you ask.
Typography legibility from the road
Real estate signs are read from moving cars, often at 50 to 60km/h. The agent's name should be legible from 10 metres minimum. The phone number should be legible from 5 metres. As a working guide for a 600 × 900mm sign: phone numbers at 80pt minimum, agent names at 60pt minimum. For 600 × 450mm signs (auction boards and A-frame inserts read at closer range), the typography can scale down proportionally, but the principle holds — phone numbers are the call-to-action, and they need to be legible. Avoid fine serifs that disappear at distance. High contrast (dark text on light background, or vice versa) reads in bright Australian sun. Low-contrast designs that look elegant on screen disappear in the field. This is the kind of guidance worth raising with agency clients who design their own files. If the phone number can't be read from the road, the sign is doing decorative work rather than lead-generation work.
Brand compliance
Most franchises have brand guidelines that dictate logo sizing, agent photo treatment, colour ratios and typography. The major Australian agencies (Ray White, McGrath, Belle, Harcourts, Century 21 and others) all have stock-art templates available to member agents. If you're receiving client artwork, the franchise marketing team is the source of truth. Use franchise-supplied logo files rather than screen-grabbed versions, and confirm CMYK brand colour builds with the marketing team before printing. Pantone references in brand guides do not always translate identically to CMYK on corflute substrate. A trade customer who knows to flag this conversation early earns trust with their agency clients fast. The alternative is a print run rejected for a noticeable colour shift, and that's a cost-of-goods conversation neither party wants.
The QR code question
QR codes on real estate signs went from gimmick to expected feature over the last decade. They work, but only if the design respects how QR codes are actually scanned. Use a 60 × 60mm minimum size for reliable scanning from arm's length. Stick to high-contrast (black on white scans most reliably; coloured QR codes scan unpredictably). Test the code with at least three different phones before sending the file. Link to a property-specific landing page rather than the agency homepage. A QR code that lands the buyer on the wrong page is worse than no QR code at all, and a code that doesn't scan at all damages the agent's lead pipeline silently. If client artwork comes through with a QR code that hasn't been tested, test it yourself before approving.
Production turnaround for real estate work
Real estate runs on a Saturday-opens-and-auctions rhythm that drives weekly production demand. Friday becomes the worst-case deadline for the agency, which means Thursday becomes the worst-case deadline for you, which means Wednesday is when artwork really needs to be approved. Building this rhythm into your client conversations sets expectations on both sides.
Turnaround starts from the next business day for files received and approved before the daily cut-off. Sheet-based pricing means orders sized to the standard 600 × 900mm and 600 × 450mm get the best per-piece economics, which is what gives you margin headroom on volume jobs. Trade accounts are available for sign shops and resellers running regular volume. For multiple property listings in a single order, you can submit multiple jobs together, but each job must be a single size. The system cannot combine 600 × 900mm and 600 × 450mm signs into one job.
The conversation worth having with your agency clients up front: the worst-case scenario is an agent dropping artwork to you late on Thursday for a Saturday open. The best-case scenario is the same artwork arriving on Tuesday or Wednesday with time for any prepress queries. The cost is identical. Building a buffer into your client workflow protects everyone.
File requirements for real estate corflute
The file setup essentials for real estate corflute jobs. This is the headline version. The full file setup walkthrough lives in a dedicated cluster article (coming next).
PDF only, maximum 2GB. Set up at 100% size, not scaled. 3mm bleed (this product is single-sided). CMYK colour space. Fonts converted to outlines. Filename should include the finished size and quantity, formatted like '600mm x 900mm qty 5.pdf'. Embed agent photos and franchise logos directly as vector or 300dpi raster. Never link to externally-hosted images, because the link will break in the prepress workflow and you will end up with a placeholder where the photo should be.
Common artwork problems to watch for in client files
These are the file-level problems our prepress team sees most often on real estate jobs. For trade customers receiving artwork from agency clients (or their freelance designers), this is the catch-list. Spotting these before files reach our queue saves a round of rework and protects your client relationship at the same time.
Phone number too small to read from the road
Consequence: signs that do not generate calls. The agent's number is the call-to-action. If a passing driver cannot read it, the sign is doing decorative work rather than lead-generation work, and the agent will eventually notice. Watch for: phone numbers under 80pt at 600 × 900mm size, or low-contrast colour combinations. The fix is straightforward and worth raising with the client even if they didn't ask.
Agent photo at insufficient resolution
Consequence: pixellated headshots that hurt agent credibility on every sign in their territory. Watch for: photos pulled from agency websites or social profiles, which are typically 72 to 150dpi. The fix is to request the original photographer file. Most agencies have these, even if the agent reflexively grabs the website version.
RGB photography sent without CMYK conversion
Consequence: shifted skin tones, often more orange or red than the designer expected. Watch for: files exported direct from Lightroom or Photos without a colour-space conversion step. The conversion takes a minute in Photoshop with a CMYK profile and a soft proof, and it's the kind of intervention that earns trust with clients who didn't know it was needed.
Brand colours not matching franchise standards
Consequence: agency rejects the print run, costly reprint that someone has to absorb. Watch for: client artwork that uses approximate colour swatches rather than the franchise-supplied CMYK builds. The Pantone in the brand guide is the reference, but the CMYK build for corflute is what comes off the press. If you're not sure, get the CMYK build confirmed by franchise marketing before printing.
Forgetting bleed on critical text or imagery
Consequence: white sliver at trim edge, or important text trimmed off. Watch for: artwork built to the exact trim size with no extension. The fix is 3mm bleed on all elements with critical content (agent details, phone numbers) at least 5mm inside the trim edge so trim drift does not eat into them.
Double-sided artwork sent to a single-sided product
Consequence: order delay while the right product is selected, and an awkward conversation with the agency client. Watch for: artwork files containing two pages or a front-and-back layout when the order has been raised against Corflute Print Only. If the sign needs to be visible from both directions of the road, the order should be on Corrugated Plastic. Catching this at your end before it reaches our prepress is the easiest save in the cycle.
Unreadable QR codes
Consequence: agents lose mobile-driven leads on every sign, often without knowing it. Watch for: QR codes under 30 × 30mm, coloured codes, or codes that no one has actually scanned. Test scan with multiple phones before approving the file.
Ordering real estate corflute through Mediapoint
The trade workflow essentials. If you're running a trade account with us already, this is familiar territory. If you're considering setting one up for real estate work, here is how the process runs.
Files are submitted as PDF, sized at 100%, with 3mm bleed, in CMYK colour space, fonts outlined. Filename includes the finished size and quantity ('600mm x 900mm qty 5.pdf'). For trade accounts running real estate volume, building this convention into your client intake template means files arrive ready to forward without renaming.
Turnaround starts from the next business day after file approval, for files received before the daily cut-off. Pricing is structured around sheet yield, so orders at the standard 600 × 900mm and 600 × 450mm sizes get the best per-piece economics. Trade pricing is available for resellers and sign shops with regular volume, with margin headroom that lets you quote your agency clients competitively while keeping a healthy reseller margin.
For larger campaigns (typically over $1,000) we recommend ordering a small production sample to confirm print quality, colour and finish before committing to the full run. Worth offering this to your agency clients on franchise rollouts or new branding launches. A sample is much cheaper than a 500-sign reprint, and offering it positions you as the careful trade partner rather than the one who got it wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Can I order both single-sided and double-sided real estate signs in one job?
No. Each job is one product type. Single-sided uses our Corflute Print Only product. Double-sided uses our Corrugated Plastic product. They can be ordered as separate jobs within a single order, but the system cannot combine the two product types in one job. Worth setting this expectation with agency clients who order mixed-product runs.
How long do real estate corflute signs last outdoors?
Typically 12 to 24 months under Australian conditions. Coastal exposure and high-UV environments shorten lifespan. Sheltered installations extend it. Most listing campaigns finish well within the substrate's working life, which is the answer to give an agency client asking how long their stock will hold up.
Can I order signs in agency brand colours as Pantone matches?
Yes. Specify Pantone C spot colours in the artwork file and our profile produces the closest CMYK match available on corflute substrate. The match is consistent from job to job, but it is not perfect because corflute is not a coated stock. For brand-critical work, confirm the CMYK build with the franchise marketing team before the first run.
What gauge should I recommend for outdoor real estate signs?
5mm. The 3mm gauge is suitable for short-term indoor display only. 5mm is the workhorse for outdoor real estate work — it holds eyelets without tearing, stands up to wind, and is the gauge most commonly specified by Australian real estate frames. Frame specifications do vary by manufacturer, so for clients using non-standard hardware it's worth confirming the specific gauge requirement.
Do you supply blank corflute for clients who print themselves?
Mediapoint specialises in printed corflute production. For unprinted blank substrate, your local Corex distributor supplies sheet stock direct.
Can I get a sample print before committing to a full agency stock order?
Yes. For larger orders (typically over $1,000) we recommend ordering a small production sample to confirm print quality, colour and finish before the full run. This is particularly worth offering to clients during new franchise rollouts or brand identity refreshes, where colour fidelity matters disproportionately.
Key takeaways
The points worth remembering when advising agency clients or quoting your next real estate job.
Corflute dominates Australian real estate signage because of the cost, durability and frame-compatibility balance. Nothing else matches it for typical agency volumes, which is why this is steady trade work.
Standard sizes are 600 × 900mm (the workhorse for property-frontage agency boards) and 600 × 450mm (the dominant size for auction boards and A-frame inserts).
Mediapoint's Corflute Print Only product is single-sided. For double-sided agency boards, use our Corrugated Plastic product instead. Confirm the product type with your client before any artwork starts.
Only 3mm and 5mm gauges are available. 5mm is standard for outdoor work, 3mm for short-term indoor display.
Phone numbers and agent names need to be legible from the road. 80pt minimum for phone numbers at 600 × 900mm size, 60pt for agent names. Worth flagging to clients who design their own files.
CMYK from the start, never RGB conversion at the end. Worth pushing back on client artwork that arrives RGB.
Filename convention saves time at prepress: '600mm x 900mm qty 5.pdf'. Build it into your client intake template.
Build a production buffer into your client workflow. Wednesday for Saturday opens, not Friday afternoon.
Working with Mediapoint on real estate corflute
Mediapoint runs corflute production for sign shops, trade resellers and design studios servicing real estate clients across Australia. Sheet-model pricing means standard sizes get the best per-piece economics, which gives you margin headroom on the agency volume work. Turnaround starts from the next business day for files received and approved before the daily cut-off. Trade pricing is available for resellers running regular volume.
View our Corflute Print Only product for single-sided real estate signs, or our Corrugated Plastic product for double-sided agency boards. If a particular client job sits between the two, get in touch before locking the artwork. The conversation up front is the cheapest part of the production process.