How Supporting Local Events Can Win You More Property Listings and Supercharge Your Estate Agency Brand

If you’ve ever wondered how to get more property listings as an estate agent without resorting to heavy discounts or relying solely on online portals, here’s a strategy that’s as smart as it is overlooked: supporting local events. Not sponsoring them — supporting them. It’s a small but crucial distinction, and it’s one that could help you increase your estate agency brand visibility, dominate your local market, and win new instructions with ease.

Far too often, the term “sponsoring” local events conjures images of handing over a cheque, sticking your logo on a banner no one notices, and hoping for the best. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, it’s rarely an effective estate agency marketing strategy. What estate agents in the UK really need is visibility — consistent, physical, community-rooted visibility — and that’s where this approach shines.

At The Estate Agent Consultancy, we’ve worked with dozens of forward-thinking estate agents who’ve used this technique to grow their brand presence rapidly in hyperlocal markets. In many cases, they’ve gone from a minimal presence in a neighbourhood to having 20 to 30 boards up overnight, just by supporting a local school fete or charity run — without spending a fortune.

So, how does it work?

Start by rethinking what it means to “support” a local event. You’re not offering money — you’re offering exposure. You already have the assets that most community groups desperately need: marketing boards and someone to put them up. Local events — whether they’re hosted by schools, nurseries, charities or churches — live and die by their attendance. Even the best-planned event can flop if no one turns up. What these organisers need more than anything is awareness, and that’s where your estate agency steps in.

Here’s the move: offer to support these events by using your For Sale-style boards to advertise them across the local area. You’ll need to get custom slips printed that attach to your existing boards, highlighting the event’s name, date, and location. Then, you’ll coordinate the placement of these boards at agreed-upon addresses, typically for about a month leading up to the event. For example, if there’s a village fair happening in early July, you’d aim to have boards up by early June.

To get started, contact all potential event organisers in your patch — schools, nurseries, charity groups, sports clubs — and let them know you’re offering free promotional support for local events. Make it clear that you’re not charging for the board placements but that the organisers need to provide a list of at least 20 households willing to host a board. This is key. It ensures that your time and investment in slips and coordination yields sufficient local presence to be worthwhile.

This approach not only provides the event with a professional-looking promotional campaign but also places your brand front and centre in your target community for weeks at a time. And because it’s tied to a community cause, it’s viewed positively — not as aggressive marketing, but as a genuine act of goodwill.

Of course, timing and planning are everything. To get a full month of visibility, you need to be working 6-8 weeks ahead of each event. That means identifying annual events early in the year and slotting them into your marketing calendar. Many of these events occur on the same weekend each year, so it’s easy to plan for them with recurring reminders.

And don’t forget about the operational side. Before you commit, calculate your costs: printing custom slips, coordinating logistics, and possibly producing extra boards if your existing stock is tied up. You’ll also need to think about storage, retrieval, and wear-and-tear. But once these elements are in place, it’s a repeatable, scalable marketing strategy that delivers massive visibility for minimal cost.

Now, if you’re asking, “How do I stand out as an estate agent in a competitive market?” — this is your answer. Supporting local events in this way shows you’re embedded in the community, not just another agent chasing instructions. It builds trust, familiarity, and goodwill, all of which make you the first choice when someone decides to sell.

Better still, this strategy integrates beautifully with your online marketing. Every board placement is an opportunity for a social media post: “We’re proud to support the St Mary’s School Summer Fete happening next month!” Tag the organisers, include event hashtags, and encourage engagement. You can even run competitions or giveaways tied to the event to drive further visibility.

Real-world results back this up. One independent estate agent we worked with in Surrey used this strategy to support a primary school fair. They secured 25 board placements in an area where they’d previously had little presence. Off the back of that one event, they gained two listings and secured long-term visibility in a highly competitive postcode. That’s the power of hyperlocal marketing — when done right.

Ultimately, what makes this work so well is that it doesn’t feel like advertising. It feels like contribution. And in today’s landscape, where vendors are increasingly wary of slick sales tactics, authenticity matters more than ever. If you can show you’re actively supporting the community, not just trying to sell to it, you’re already winning hearts and minds — and soon, instructions too.

In summary, if you’re looking for new ways to get more property listings as an estate agent in the UK, supporting local events is a powerful and underused tactic. It boosts your board presence, connects you with your community, and positions you as the local go-to expert — not just another agent.

And if you’re wondering how to make this happen effectively, The Estate Agent Consultancy is here to help. We’ve got detailed templates, case studies, and step-by-step guides that show exactly how to roll this out in your area — including how to approach event organisers, what to include in your board slips, and how to tie it all into your social media and brand strategy.

Want to learn more? Book a free consultation with Chris Webb today. Let’s turn your estate agency into the most visible and trusted brand in your patch — one board at a time.