CGI in an estate agent brochure works best when it shows a property that does not yet exist in finished form: a new-build, an unfinished home or a refurbishment. Use a small set of well-briefed images, label every one clearly as computer-generated, and never let a render promise more than the finished property will deliver. Done that way, CGI gives buyers something to picture where a floor plan and a site hoarding cannot.

This guide covers the image types agents actually use, what to hand over before work starts, how to label renders, the UK rules that matter, and how to place CGI on the page.

Visual Trick – CGIs, Animations, Digital Twins
visualtrick.co.uk
Show Buyers the Finished Property
Visual Trick creates realistic property CGI for brochures and listings, helping buyers picture new-builds, unfinished homes and refurbishments.

Explore property CGI

TL;DR

  • CGI suits off-plan, new-build, unfinished and refurbishment stock, where photography cannot yet capture the finished result.
  • Most brochures need three to six images: a hero exterior, one or two key interiors, a floor plan and, where relevant, a garden or street view.
  • Every render should be labelled as computer-generated, with a plain note that finishes and layouts may vary.
  • In England, property descriptions fall under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so a render must not mislead on what is being sold.
  • A good brief (plans, elevations, materials, viewpoints) saves revision rounds and keeps the images accurate.

Table of Contents

What CGI means in a property brochure

CGI stands for computer-generated imagery. In property marketing it means images built digitally from drawings and a 3D model, rather than photographed. Savills describes CGIs as digitally created visuals that can show a new-build, unfinished or refurbished property before the completed space exists, and notes they can be realistic enough to be mistaken for photographs.

That last point is the whole reason labelling matters, and we come back to it below.

The difference from photography is simple. A photograph records what is there. A render shows what will be, or could be. For a house that is built and dressed, photography is usually the right tool. For a plot with a foundation slab, a shell awaiting fit-out or a tired interior with planning permission for a rebuild, a render is the only way to put a convincing image on the front of the brochure.

Where CGI earns its place

The strongest cases for an agent are these:

  • Off-plan and new-build schemes. Buyers reserve before completion. A render lets them see the building, the street and the light, instead of relying only on 2D drawings and imagination, as Savills puts it.
  • Unfinished or shell properties. An empty room is hard to read. Interior CGI can bring it to life with furnishing and finish options.
  • Extensions and refurbishments. Where a property has potential, a render can demonstrate achievable finishes, which helps vendors and buyers see the point of a project.
  • Land and development opportunities. An image of a consented scheme helps a plot stand out from a field photograph.

If a property is finished and photogenic, CGI adds little. Spend the budget where photography genuinely cannot reach.

Types of CGI an estate agent can use

Not every brochure needs every format. Here is what is available and where each fits. For a longer breakdown of formats, see our guide to types of visualisation for property marketing in the UK.

Image type Best for Typical brochure position
Exterior CGI New-builds, developments, plots with consent Cover or first spread
Interior CGI Shells, show-home alternatives, refurbishments Inside spreads, one per key room
Virtual staging Empty finished rooms Inside spreads, labelled as staged
2D and 3D floor plans Every off-plan or multi-unit listing Beside the interior images
Aerial CGI Larger sites, context and surroundings Site overview page
Photomontage Showing a design in its real setting Location or planning page
Animation or virtual tour Online brochures and listing pages Linked or embedded in digital versions

A few notes on the less obvious ones.

Virtual staging fills an empty, finished room with digital furniture. It is popular because it is quick, but it is also the format most likely to attract complaints if the staging hides condition or size. We have written a separate piece on virtual staging for estate agents that covers doing it honestly.

Photomontage places a rendered building into a real photograph. When it is used for planning, standards are stricter. The Landscape Institute’s technical guidance note 06/19 covers visualisations for development proposals and asks for transparent processes and supporting data so the image is an objective representation. That guidance is written for landscape and visual assessment, but its principle is a good test for any brochure image that shows a building in its setting.

Floor plans are not glamorous, yet they are often what a serious buyer reads first. A furnished 3D floor plan next to a 2D plan answers the question “how will my sofa fit?” better than any hero image.

Furnished 3D floor plan of an apartment

How many images a brochure needs

More is not better. A brochure with twelve renders reads like a developer’s sales deck, and each additional image is another thing to check for accuracy.

A sensible starting set for a single new-build home:

  1. One hero exterior, from the angle a buyer would first see the home.
  2. One or two interiors: the main living space and the kitchen, or the room that sells the scheme.
  3. A floor plan for each level.
  4. A garden or street view if the setting is part of the appeal.

For a development of several plots, add a site plan and one image per house type, then reuse interiors across matching plots.

What to give the CGI artist

The quality of a render depends on the quality of the brief. According to the same Savills guidance, the typical information includes plans, elevations and sections, a site plan showing the viewpoints, photographs of the surrounding area, a materials schedule and, if available, a 3D model and landscape plan. For interiors, furniture and finish details are added. An initial draft is produced for approval, followed by second or third drafts if needed.

In practice, we would add a few things that save time:

  • The purpose of each image. A cover image and a floor-plan-adjacent interior have different jobs. Say which is which.
  • The audience. First-time buyers, downsizers and investors respond to different styling and different light.
  • The format. Print needs higher resolution than a portal listing. Tell us if the same image goes to a printed brochure, a PDF and a listing site.
  • What is fixed and what is still open. If the kitchen supplier has not been chosen, say so, and the image can be styled neutrally.
  • Deadlines. Marketing launches slip when approvals do. Give us the date the brochure has to be at the printer, not just the day you want the images.

Our own brief-before-modelling guide goes through this in more detail, and the 10-step commissioning guide for estate agents walks through the process from first enquiry to final files.

Labelling CGI so buyers can tell it from a photograph

Because a good render can pass for a photograph, a brochure should never leave the reader guessing. Housebuilders set a useful example. Lovell New Homes states on its computer-generated images page that such images are not intended as an accurate representation of a property, its setting or immediate surroundings, and that final elevations and materials may differ.

As a working practice for your own brochures:

  • Add a short caption beside or under every render: “Computer-generated image. Finishes and layout may vary.”
  • Keep the caption on the same page as the image, in readable type, not buried in the back-page small print.
  • Make sure the render matches the current approved plans, not an earlier design.
  • If an image shows optional extras, say so next to it. The ASA’s advice on new-build and off-plan homes says that where an image shows optional upgrades alongside a “from” price, adjacent and equally prominent text should explain the upgrades and any known additional cost.
  • Do not show a view, a neighbouring building or a landscape feature that is not part of the sale or not certain to exist.

Our property brochure CGI guide for UK developers includes a checklist for the ASA points.

The UK rules in plain terms

In England, the rules on property descriptions sit in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. Trading Standards’ business guidance on property descriptions explains that Part 4, Chapter 1 of the Act controls descriptions used by estate agents and letting agents, and prohibits misleading actions and omissions likely to cause the average consumer to take a transactional decision they would not otherwise have taken. The same guidance points out that a presentation can be misleading even if the individual facts are correct, and that photographs must not be doctored. A render is not a photograph, but the same logic applies: the overall impression must be fair.

The local authority view is consistent. Bromley Council’s leaflet on property descriptions says the same Act controls descriptions used by estate agents and letting agents in England.

Two practical consequences:

  • If a render is the main image for a property, the brochure must make clear it is a render and what it represents.
  • If a scheme changes after the images are made, update the brochure. An outdated render is the commonest way a good image becomes a problem.

If you are unsure whether a particular image or caption is compliant, ask your Trading Standards service or your compliance lead before print. We produce the images, and you remain responsible for the claims around them.

Putting CGI on the page

Layout decides whether a render reads as honest or glossy. Some habits that work:

  • Lead with the best view, not the biggest. A clear, believable hero image beats a dramatic one.
  • Pair image and plan. Put the interior render on the same spread as the floor plan, so buyers can connect the picture to the layout.
  • Keep styling consistent. If the kitchen is oak in one image and white in another, buyers will ask which is real.
  • Mix CGI with real photography of the location. Local streets, schools, transport and parks are real. Showing them in photographs makes the render feel anchored.
  • Use the same set across print, PDF and portals. A consistent look across the printed brochure and online listing builds trust. If you then promote the listing through paid channels, performance-led digital advertising can carry the same images to a wider audience.
  • Supply colour-accurate files. Ask for print-ready and web-ready versions of every image, so nobody has to resize a hero shot at the last minute.

Perspective

Most of the brochures we see go wrong in the same place: the brief. An agent has a launch date, a half-finished set of drawings and a hope that the image will “sort it out”. It will not. The render only shows what the information tells it to show.

This is why we work as a single, in-house operator rather than passing files down a chain. You talk to the person who builds your image. Questions get answered directly, the deadline is the one we agreed, and the workflow is adapted to what the image is for, whether that is a printed cover, a portal listing or a planning submission.

Our advice is to treat CGI as part of the sales process, not decoration. Choose a few images, brief each for a purpose, label them honestly and keep them aligned with the approved scheme. Buyers trust a brochure that is clear about what is built, what is planned and what is illustrative.

Paride

Working with Visual Trick

We produce CGI for estate agents, developers, architects and property marketers across the UK and worldwide. For brochure work that usually means exterior CGI for the cover, interior CGI for the key rooms, floor plans and, where the project calls for it, virtual staging or a virtual tour. Everything is produced in-house, with no outsourcing, so you get one point of contact and predictable timing.

Visual Trick - CGIs, Animations, Digital Twins

If you are planning a brochure, start with our page on CGI for estate agents, look at property CGI, or send us your drawings through the Visual Trick website and tell us the launch date.

Frequently asked questions

Is CGI allowed in estate agent brochures?

Yes. Agents and developers use it routinely for new-build and unfinished properties. The condition is that it is not misleading: label it as computer-generated, keep it consistent with the real scheme and explain any optional extras shown, in line with the DMCCA guidance and the ASA advice above.

How many CGI images should a brochure include?

For a single property, three to six is usually enough: a hero exterior, one or two interiors, and floor plans. Developments with several house types need one set per type, plus a site plan. Extra images add checking work and rarely add sales value.

What do I need to send before the images are made?

Send plans, elevations and sections, a site plan with viewpoints, photographs of the surroundings, a materials schedule and, if you have them, a 3D model and a landscape plan. For interiors, add furniture and finish details. Expect a first draft for approval, then second or third rounds if needed.

Is virtual staging the same as CGI?

It uses the same techniques but has a different job. Virtual staging adds furniture to a photograph of an existing room, while full CGI creates the room or building from drawings. Both need clear labelling so buyers know the furniture or finishes are illustrative.

Can the same CGI be used for planning and for the brochure?

Sometimes, but not always. Planning images, such as verified views or photomontages, follow stricter standards than marketing images. See our guide to CGI for planning applications before reusing one for the other.

Sources