How to Create a Professional Property Brochure

Central to any great property marketing campaign is usually a stunning professional property brochure. It forms the backbone or foundation of all other marketing & promotional activities that follow.

A great property brochure combined with a solid website and property marketing strategy create the tools you need to capture buyer attention at each stage of their journey, and with a great brochure you can ensure they are actively engaged with you both online and off.

First impressions count, and this is especially true when it comes to the sale of property. With it being such a large financial commitment, the buyer’s cautionary senses are heightened as they look for any signs of untrustworthiness.

With that in mind it would make sense to assume that the more professional the brochure (often the first point of contact) the more transparent the information within, and the more succinctly that information is communicated, the more likely you are to take the potential buyer beyond stage one in your sales process.

So let’s take a look at the essential elements you should consider when thinking about how to create a professional property brochure.

1. Choose your property brochure designer wisely

Great graphic designers are hard to come by. Many are of course wonderful in their own right, but each individual designer has his or her strengths, interests and experiences that combine to make them unique. Designing property brochures and marketing collateral is no different. A solid understanding of buyers, market trends and design trends in property marketing is essential to crafting a creative, professional property brochure.

2. Have your house in order before commissioning design

To ensure your brochure design goes as smoothly as possible, we’d encourage you to check that all CAD files supplied to your designer are correct and current. Any discrepancies in this information can be very off-putting to a discerning buyer but could also result in a misdescriptions claim being made against you.

3. Use high-end photography and/or CGI

Always use only high-end photography and/or CGI and select only the finest elements of the property to shoot. If the kitchen and bathroom look awesome and the bedroom a little plain, feature the kitchen and bathroom. Your buyer will eventually see the box bedroom but by that stage they have made more of a connection with the property and have started to imagine themselves living there. They will have redesigned the property in their heads to their taste and will know that the strength of the kitchen and bathroom outweigh the downsides or shortcomings of the bedroom. In other words, they are more sympathetic once a connection is established.

4. Ensure your brochure covers these key elements:

The basics of a great property brochure should be there of course: Location, amenities, infrastructure, transport links, education and health. Ensure you talk about the Architectural merit of the building, and include lifestyle photography and high-end CGI of both exteriors & interiors.

Floorplan layouts that are stripped of any unnecessary information such as services / plumbing or electrical layouts. Focus on the space and layout. For complex layouts sometimes 3D plans are best.

Dimensions in metric but if your target market is 50+ also include imperial dimensions. Dimensions should be precise, but disclaimers added to ensure potential buyers do not place orders for built-in furnishings or carpets etc.

A location map that shows the wider picture for buyers to get an idea of where the development is in terms of the overall city or town.

An area map that is a close in version which shows surrounding streets, parks, schools and key locations within walking distance.

A site plan either in 2D or 3D that clearly sets out each plot along with a simple to read colour-codes legend.

Logos of the various professionals involved can often build confidence in the buyer especially if the team are well known and trusted authorities etc. That said, be careful with adding logos of associated companies that could be subject to change. We have seen developers change professionals between phases which means a reprint of the brochure which can be costly.

Flexible format for phased developments. If the development is split into phases it is wise to create a generic brochure that covers the fixed information such as site plans, location maps, lifestyle etc. Then add a sleeve to the back of this brochure that houses a supplement for each phase. This enables you to adjust house types depending on market demand as you move from phase to phase.

The brochure should finish with a good disclaimer. These should be drafted in such a way so that they offer the buyer and the developer or seller a fair level of protection. They should not be off-putting, preferential or geared towards any particular party. They should be clear, transparent, fair and never misleading. For added peace of mind, it would be advised to have your legal team review these.

5. Printing format

Your high-resolution print-ready digital file should be output in CMYK for printed copies.

6. Optimise your creative assets for digital channels

Finally – compressed optimised digital versions should be output for web. The web version should be under 1Mb and download within a reasonable amount of time whilst still remaining good quality.