Hello REALTORS®,
Signs and sign ordinances can be beneficial to Realtors, but they also come with responsibility. Over the last several years, your REALTORS® Association successfully lobbied across the Western Upstate for protection of real estate signs, that communicate that real property is for sale, while local sign ordinances were updated.
More than a decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Gilbert, Arizona, case that signs are protected speech. The Gilbert case related to an exemption for political signs, but most sign ordinances specifically exempted certain types of signs, like political and real estate signs. The problem was most sign ordinances included exemptions related to what the sign said. The Supreme Court ruled that speech-based exemption violates the First Amendment protection of speech.
That ruling made it more challenging to protect real estate signs, but for the most part the new ordinances continue to protect real estate signs.
It is important that real estate professionals comply with local sign ordinances. Most of them allow a small sign on the property that is for sale. Some ordinances allow real estate professionals to post similar-sized lead in signs for a few hours during an open house.
On the commercial side, larger signs are allowed and if the property has multiple road frontages, more than one sign is allowed. The ordinances I have worked on usually state that when the property is no longer available for sale or rent, the sign must be removed.
Local code enforcement officers have asked us to share with you that it is important that signs be posted legally. Nearly all ordinances say something like this:
- For residential property, one sign (two if the house is on a corner), 4-6 square feet in size, is allowed on the property for sale or rent.
- For commercial property, one sign (two or more if the property has multiple road frontages), 16-32 square feet, is allowed on the property for sale or rent.
- Some, but not all, ordinances allow lead-in signs for a few hours, usually on the weekends. But posting signs off the property for weeks at a time is a recipe for the signs to be confiscated, and a possible fine for the owner of the sign.
- All signs should come down when the property is rented or sold. That means the big commercial listing signs too.
The larger concern is if real estate professionals don’t comply. We could face proposals to take away your ability to use signs.
What you can do
Signs are an important way that Realtors communicate that property is available for sale or lease. The pushback I experience from local government officials about real estate signs is that they seem to remain up long after the property is leased or sold, and they litter every corner in town.
Please do your part to protect Realtors’ ability to use signs by removing them after the property is sold or leased. And take down open house lead in signs immediately after the open house.
Another Federal Government Shut Down?
Yes, our federal government partially shut down—again—last Friday at midnight. But it quickly ended four days later on Tuesday. If you had a closing early in the week, you may have experienced delays. But the good news is that the federal government is fully funded, including flood insurance, through September 30, 3026.
How can you help?
Advocacy, as you can see from this report, is a long game. It’s also an important part of the way your Realtors Association represents and serves Realtors. There are two important ways you can help:
- Vote
- Contribute to RPAC
RPAC is an important part of our association’s advocacy efforts. Success hinges on the election of Realtor Champions. My favorite quote, at least recently, is that there are two kinds of politicians: those who raise money, and those who lose.
RPAC’s objective is to cooperate as an association to raise money for the campaigns of candidates who will champion Realtor issues. If you haven’t already contributed to RPAC, click here to contribute. Any amount will help.
Michael Dey, Director of Government Affairs