Sydney residents up in arms over ‘giant’ real estate signs

A slew of gigantic real estate signs spotted around Sydney has sparked mass confusion and chaos.

Furious Sydneysiders are fed up with giant real estate signs they say are taking over their suburb.

While most ‘just sold’ signs will feature a photograph and information about the house in question, Sydney’s Signature Property Agency has put a unique spin on this age-old tradition.

The Ryde agency’s exceptionally large real estate signs feature giant portraits of their agents with the word ‘sold’ underneath them, indicating when a home has been snapped up, without any information about the house itself.

Some locals have shared that the style of the sign has left them asking — have they just sold a house, or a human?

Some said it appeared that the agency was selling people, not houses. Picture: Reddit

“I’m just a bemused resident who found the sold sign over the top in comparison to most of what goes up around my area of Sydney,” the poster said in a Reddit thread.

“I don’t fully understand why the REA industry in Australia evolved in this way,” one asked.

“Pictures of faces and names of people are entirely absent from the industry in the UK.

“Signboards are always focused on the company name, very occasionally with the name of a specific person to speak to in the contact details at the base, although I’ve only really seen this on commercial stuff, not residential.”

One commenter said this sign has been up for almost a year. Picture: Reddit

In a different thread, another sign from the same real estate company was causing chaos.

“Spare me a thought,” the poster said, alongside a photo of the sign.

“This has been up since November 2023.”

“This is peak Sydney.” one replied.

“There is not even any information about the house!”

Despite the criticisms, others backed the real estate’s move, stating that this was their way of getting their names and faces out there for future sales.

“The signs aren’t for buyers, they’re for sellers,” one pointed out.

“See an agents face on hundreds of signs saying they sold for record prices and if you decide to sell, you unconsciously go ‘hey that agent sells lots of places around here’”.

“I agree with your sentiments but they are advertising to other sellers, not buyers,” another agreed.

The agency said that the signs, like the two in this photo, have helped them sell houses quickly. Picture: Supplied

“If you are going to sell a house, and every house around you had been sold with a person’s face on it, they assume you will think that they are good as selling houses.

“And therefore, would be a good choice for your house, rather than trusting someone with a track record you don’t know.”

Robert Younis from Signature Property Agency told news.com.au that this method proved to be very successful for this company.

He also pointed out that the signs with the agent’s faces on were a way of celebrating their success after selling a property.

The real estate agency is based in the Sydney suburb of Ryde. Picture: Supplied

The signs have been turning heads. Picture: Supplied

Before a sale, the agency do feature signs with information about the homes they are selling.

“At Signature Property Agency, our focus is on delivering exceptional results for our vendors and the result myself & Jenny Park achieved was a true testament of that,” he said in a statement.

“We showcased this property with a for-sale sign and internal images, supported by a bespoke campaign, selling it in just four days, after it had sat with two other local agents for approx. 12 months without success.

“Once sold, we install signboards featuring our agents at our own expense to celebrate their success as part of our marketing strategy.

“We believe it’s important for residents to be aware of these results and the agents behind them.”