A new homes brochure is often the thing a buyer takes home, leaves on the kitchen table and comes back to several times before deciding. It has to make them want to live there. It also has to tell them what they’re buying.
Most brochures manage the first part. Fewer manage the second. Here’s how to do both.
Plan the brochure before writing a word
Copy for a property brochure isn’t written in isolation. It sits alongside photography, CGIs, floor plans, maps and specification tables, all within a fixed number of pages.
Agree the page plan with the designer first. Know how many words each spread can hold. A beautiful 400-word introduction is no use if the layout has room for 120.
Follow the order buyers think in
Most buyers move through the same questions, roughly in this order:
- Where is it, and what’s the area like? Location, character, amenities, schools, transport.
- What’s the development like? Architecture, layout, landscaping, the feel of the place.
- What homes are available? Types, sizes, floor plans.
- What’s inside? Specification, finishes, energy efficiency.
- What happens next? How to visit, reserve and buy.
A brochure that follows that sequence feels easy to read, because it answers each question just as the reader is asking it.
Make the location specific
Every development is “ideally located” with “excellent transport links”. Neither phrase tells a buyer anything.
Replace them with facts. The station is a seven-minute walk. Trains reach London Bridge in 28 minutes. There’s an outstanding-rated primary school at the end of the road. The nearest supermarket is a five-minute drive. Buyers trust numbers, and they use them to compare developments.
Then check them. Walk the route. Time the journey. An optimistic estimate will be discovered on the first viewing.
Sell the life, but keep it believable
People don’t buy a floor plan. They buy a future: breakfast in the kitchen, children playing in the garden, an evening on the balcony.
Lifestyle copy can help them picture it. But it should grow from what’s really there. If the garden is compact, describe what it’s good for, not what it isn’t. If the view is of the park, say so. If it’s of the car park, perhaps talk about the kitchen.
Overselling doesn’t just disappoint buyers. It can create legal problems.
Give the specification room to breathe
Specification pages are often treated as an afterthought: a dense list in small type at the back. Yet for many buyers, this is where the decision is made.
Group items by room. Name brands where they’re a selling point. Explain anything unusual, such as heat pumps or mechanical ventilation, in a sentence buyers will understand.
Check every claim
Property marketing has to be accurate. Floor areas, distances, travel times, specifications and energy ratings should all be checked against current information, and the brochure should carry the appropriate disclaimers.
A clear, honest brochure is also easier to sign off. And it builds the trust that a big purchase needs.
A quick checklist
- Does the brochure follow the order buyers think in, from area to next steps?
- Has every “ideally located” been replaced with a fact?
- Does the lifestyle copy describe what’s really there?
- Is the specification clear, grouped and explained?
- Has every figure been checked?
I’ve written property brochures and marketing for developers including Ballymore, Berkeley Group and Crest Nicholson. See how I help property and construction businesses or get in touch.