PR activities in the property development industry: what to keep in mind?

PR activities in the development industry are about building trust among investors, clients, and local residents for the company before the first foundation is even laid – through media, data, and consistent communication, not just visualizations of the development. In 2025, developers handed over 134.1 thousand apartments for operation, 7.6% more than a year earlier (GUS data), so the competition for customers and trust in the brand is growing along with the market.

The development market in numbers

According to the Central Statistical Office, developers delivered 134.1 thousand apartments into operation in 2025 – 7.6% more than in the previous year. This is a sign that despite previous periods of uncertainty in the real estate market, demand for apartments from the primary market remains high. At such a scale of investment, it is difficult to count on the quality of the construction itself defending the brand – customers and investors compare dozens of similar offers and choose the one they trust the most in terms of history and communication.

How to do good PR in the development industry

Developers should regularly organize press conferences and briefings, informing about the progress of project implementation, new investments, or technological innovations in the construction industry. Expert articles, interviews, and publications in industry media are also useful, helping to build a reputation as a real estate specialist, not just a seller of square meters. It is worth considering constant cooperation with journalists – both local and nationwide – to maintain a positive, continuous presence in the media, rather than appearing only during crises.

How to do good PR in the property development industry: communication first

Open communication with all stakeholders during the development process is of particular importance in the property development industry - especially in the face of the difficulties associated with large-scale construction projects, i.e. changes to urban infrastructure or attention to aesthetics and safety on construction sites. Developers not only build flats, but also create public spaces that affect the comfort of residents.

Effective communication with different stakeholder groups - from the media to local communities to future purchasers - is essential to maintain a positive perception of a company. Developers who engage in communication with customers at every stage of a development build an image of a reliable and professional company.

A communication strategy to yield real results must be tailored to the specifics of the real estate industry. This means taking into account the benefits resulting from the company’s specific activities – the development of infrastructure around the investment, its appeal to local communities, and its impact on the lives of the neighborhood. General slogans about „a modern dream home” do not build trust like specific information about what the investment actually changes in the neighborhood.

Cooperation with the local government and the surrounding area regarding the investment

Every major development project is built in a specific place, next to people who already live there, and within the procedures carried out by the local government – the planning plan consultation, the decision on building conditions, and infrastructure agreements. A developer who treats these processes solely as formalities to get things moving as quickly as possible risks delays resulting from protests from residents or appeals that could have been avoided through earlier, open discussions.

A more effective approach is to present plans to the residents of the neighborhood in advance – before the formal consultation stage – explaining exactly what will be built, how traffic and access to services will change, and what solutions will reduce the inconvenience of the construction itself. This does not guarantee no opposition, but it limits the risk that the only source of information about the investment for the local residents will be rumors and unconfirmed information from local groups on social media.

What do customers and investors expect?

Customers, investors, and local communities expect development companies to show more concern for the environment and the local community. That is why there is a lot of talk today about sustainable development, social responsibility, and the ecology of investment. Developers who use solutions such as solar panels, rainwater harvesting systems, and building materials with a lower carbon footprint invest in green spaces around the development, promote public and bicycle transport, and engage in local initiatives are usually perceived better in the market.

Environmental declarations under scrutiny – what changes the EU directive on greenwashing

In communication about „green” investments, a mere declaration is no longer sufficient – one must provide proof, and soon this will also be a legal requirement. Directive (EU) 2024/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 February 2024 on strengthening the position of consumers in the process of ecological transformation obliged the Member States to implement its provisions by 27 March 2026 and to start applying them from 27 September 2026. According to prawo.pl (3.09.2026), Poland did not implement the provisions within the deadline – the government draft was submitted to the Sejm on 10 July 2026, and parliamentary committees proposed that the new provisions be applied from 27 September 2027; the author of the article points out that such a shift raises doubts about compliance with EU law. For developers, this means one thing: generic slogans like „green investment” or „green neighborhood” without concrete, verifiable evidence will become increasingly difficult to defend – regardless of when the Polish regulations come into effect exactly. We write more about the phenomenon itself and its recognition in the text. greenwashing.

Expert content for apartment buyers

Buying an apartment is for most customers one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives, preceded by weeks of comparing offers and reading about loans, formalities, and the stages of taking possession of the property. A developer that provides reliable educational content on this topic – guides on the stages of the transaction, explanations of the terms of the development agreement, information about guarantees – builds a reputation as an expert even before the client asks about a specific offer. This is also good material for cooperation with industry media and real estate portals that are happy to publish expert, substantive articles in exchange for a comment from a company expert.

Open days and sales events

An open day at the construction site or in the show apartment is one of the few places where a client can physically feel the scale and standard of the investment, rather than seeing it only through a visualization. A well-organized event—with real access to a company representative, rather than just brochures—builds trust more effectively than another social media campaign. It is also worth inviting local media and neighborhood residents to such events so that the information about the investment reaches them directly, rather than through rumors in neighborhood groups.

PR as an element of the developer's crisis management

Thoughtful PR activities are also an important element of crisis management. In the development industry, unforeseen delays in construction, problems with the quality of materials, or misunderstandings with the residents of the neighboring properties can occur. Well-organized PR allows for quick and effective management of such situations, minimizing their negative effects on the sales of subsequent stages of the investment. The principles of quick and reliable response are described in the text. effective communication in a crisis situation, And about how to prepare for a difficult situation in advance – in the guide A crisis situation can happen to anyone.

Marketing and PR – together, not separately

PR campaigns in a development company should include close cooperation with the marketing department. Marketing and public relations together form a powerful tool for achieving image and sales goals. Combining these two areas is the best way to create a cohesive promotion strategy for a new investment – including open days, project presentations, and visualizations of future buildings that are in line with what will actually be built.

Relations with investors and funding institutions

Large development projects are usually financed in part with external capital – from banks, investment funds, or bonds. These recipients expect a different type of communication than an individual client: regular reports on the progress of the project, reliable information about risks (delays, increases in material costs, regulatory changes), and consistency between what the company declares to investors and what it communicates publicly in the media. The discrepancy between these two channels – for example, optimistic press releases while signaling problems to investors – sooner or later comes to light and costs much more than one difficult but consistent piece of information.

The most common PR mistakes of developers

• Visualizations that do not correspond to reality. The discrepancy between the promotional material and the actual building undermines confidence in all the company’s subsequent investments, not just this one.
• Silence during delays. The lack of information about the reasons and the new deadline raises more concern among customers than the change in the schedule itself.
• Environmental declarations without evidence. The slogan „green neighborhood” without concrete solutions and data is a simple way to bring a lawsuit for greenwashing.
• There is no communication with the surrounding area of the investment. Residents of the area, informed too late about the construction, become the source of negative opinions even before the first apartment is built.
• PR is only launched during a crisis. A company that communicates with the media only in the context of a problem does not have a built-up trust fund on which it can rely.

Language of communication – concrete data instead of the promise of a „life of dreams”

The development industry, like tourism, tends to communicate emotions rather than facts: „the apartment of your dreams”, „a new quality of life” are slogans that say nothing about the size, price, completion date, or distance to the school. A client comparing several offers at the same time needs specifics – area, layout, finishing standards, payment schedule – not assurances about the uniqueness of the investment that sound identical in every developer’s materials on the market. It also reduces the risk of disappointment at the time of receiving the apartment, because the client knows exactly what they have agreed on.

Public relations in the development industry combine strategic communication, reputation management, and image creation. Effective PR efforts allow for building lasting relationships with investors, clients, media, and local communities – and this is the foundation of the success of every subsequent project. At Commplace, we compile the results of such efforts – publications, inquiries from clients, responses to investment communications – in a dashboard. Commwork®AI, Alongside the schedule of the next stages of the campaign.

How to measure the effectiveness of a developer's PR

Instead of limiting ourselves to the number of publications about the investment, it is worth looking at indicators closer to sales: the number of requests for a specific investment after the media publication, the attendance at the open day compared to the previous event of this type, or the change in the number of visits to the investment website during the campaign compared to the base period before its launch. The mere coincidence in time – the increase in interest at exactly the time when the campaign is underway – is not yet evidence that it is responsible for the result if, at the same time, conditions in the market have also changed, for example, in terms of credit terms.

How Commplace helps

Commplace conducts B2B PR and communication activities for companies in the development and real estate sectors – from communication strategies with investors to crisis management scenarios related to investments. If you want your company’s communication to be evaluated based on real trust from customers and investors, rather than the number of messages sent, see, how we conduct B2B marketing.

The development market is growing, but the number of offers from which the client and investor can choose is also increasing – in such conditions, the company whose history and data can simply be trusted wins.

It is also worth reading: media relations – how to build relationships with journalists and B2B image activities.

Sources: The Central Statistical Office, „Residential construction in the period January–December 2025” (stat.gov.pl), publication 22.01.2026; Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2024/825 of 28 February 2024 (EUR-Lex); dates of transposition and application and description of Poland’s delay: prawo.pl, „EmpCo Directive: Can Poland postpone greenwashing regulations?”, 3.09.2026.