Use case · Real estate
QR codes for real estate
A board outside a house is read from the pavement, sometimes from a slowing car. That distance drives every decision about size, contrast and what sits behind the code.
- Free
- No sign-up
- No expiry
- Commercial use
Estate agents use QR codes on for-sale boards, window cards and brochures to link directly to a property's listing page. Size the code at roughly one tenth of the intended reading distance — a board read from three metres needs about 300 mm — and link to the individual property, never the agency homepage.
Sizing for where people stand
The working rule: a code needs to be about one tenth as wide as the distance it is scanned from. Property is unusual because that distance is often large and not negotiable — there is a garden wall in the way.
| Placement | Reading distance | Code width |
|---|---|---|
| Window card, from the pavement | 1 m | 100 mm |
| For-sale board on a fence | 3 m | 300 mm |
| Board set back behind a garden | 5 m | 500 mm |
| Brochure in hand | 0.3 m | 30 mm |
| Site hoarding on a development | 8 m | 800 mm |
Big codes need short URLs. A long listing URL full of reference numbers produces a dense grid that needs to be printed even larger to compensate. Use a short path — agency.com/p/4471 — and the same physical size scans from further away.
The listing, not the homepage
Sending every board to the agency homepage wastes the scan. Someone standing outside a specific house wants that house.
- Link to the individual property page, with the address visible above the fold.
- Put the photo gallery and floor plan first. On a phone, those are what people came for.
- Add a click-to-call and a book-a-viewing button at the top, not buried at the bottom.
- Keep the page live after the sale, redirecting to similar properties rather than a 404 — boards stay up for weeks after completion.
- Include the EPC and the price. Hiding the price behind an enquiry form loses the scan.
Boards live outdoors for months
- UV fade. Cheap inks lose contrast within a season. Specify UV-stable print, and choose black rather than a mid-tone brand colour.
- Rain and glare. Matte laminate. A wet gloss board is unscannable in daylight.
- Angle. Boards are read from below and to one side. Most decoders tolerate about 30 degrees; beyond that, failures climb. Mount codes at the lower half of the board.
- Error correction. Use level Q for outdoor boards. It survives scratches, sticker damage and partial fading.
- Check periodically. Someone should scan the board when they visit for a viewing. A dead code on a board is invisible until it is measured.
Frequently asked
How big should a QR code be on a for-sale board?
What should a property QR code link to?
Will the code still work in the rain?
Should I track scans from boards?
Last reviewed 24 August 2026 · Checked by the QR Code Builder team