There's poetic licence, artistic licence, and, most entertaining of all, marketing licence. In the mid-1990s a British developer's advertisements listed the attractions of London and the company's project, but without mentioning the scheme was in Peterborough, East Anglia, 133 kilometres from the British capital.
Dozens of British developments are being marketed in Hong Kong this year, and in some cases buyers are being treated to examples of what may be politely called sales flair.
For instance, sales material produced by Colliers International in Singapore and used in Hong Kong states that Dalston Square, a Barratt Homes development in Hackney, London, is in 'close proximity' to the Royal College of Art, even though it is 10 kilometres from the college in Kensington.
Google Maps says it takes 23 minutes to get there by car - not factoring in rush-hour - or two hours and seven minutes by foot. Does that sound like 'close proximity'?
The college's second location is 11 kilometres away in Battersea.
Doris Boo, marketing and communications associate director at Colliers International in Singapore, defended her company's brochure. 'The information was provided to us by the developer, Barratt Homes,' she said in an e-mail.
In response to our queries, Barratt issued the following statement: 'Barratt make strenuous efforts to ensure the accuracy of their sales literature and would view any suggestion of impropriety extremely seriously. Barratt have had no negative feedback and there is no reason to believe our homeowners are anything other than extremely satisfied.'