Founded in 1991 by developers Allen (Teri) Levin and Robert (Abby) Rinke, Levin Rinke Realty has evolved into a prosperous independent brokerage selling luxury living along Florida's panhandle and neighboring Alabama regions. Levin Rinke Realty is a Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE) member, marketing its most magnificent properties globally through Luxury Portfolio International®.

The company is still owned and operated by the Levin and Rinke families as well as their President, Gordon Miles. Miles joined the company two years ago, bringing expertise and increasing exposure to Pensacola tremendously through his public relations initiatives.

In the past ten years, Levin Rinke Realty has grown exponentially from about 100 agents to nearly 400. The brokerage's sales escalated from just over $100 million in 2014 to over $1 billion in 2024, officially making it the first brokerage in the local area to reach $1 billion in sales in a calendar year. 

As it has grown, the brokerage has given back to the community. Levin Rinke Realty often takes on large sponsorships, such as the city's minor league baseball team. Focusing much of its philanthropy efforts on helping children, Levin Rinke also supports organizations such as the Gulf Coast Kids House and the Children's Home Society. Its agents give back to the community through smaller initiatives, like sponsoring Little League teams.

A Lifestyle Buyers Can't Resist

The Levin Rinke founders couldn't have picked a better location to start developing real estate. Although it may be less known than some other regions in the state, the Florida panhandle attracts people from all over the country due to its beautiful beaches and warm weather. Recent factors like the pandemic and the rise of remote working have led to more people relocating to this area of the Sunshine State.

Levin Rinke's Chief Operating Officer, Kaila Barrington, says, "The Florida Panhandle is a hidden gem that's been discovered. Influencers flock to 30A, but Pensacola Beach has its own following and stands out thanks to winning awards such as Top 5 Beaches in the US multiple years in a row. Add a global pandemic, remote work, and an incredibly affordable beach community, and we weren't surprised to find people relocating to our area."

Dedicated Agents That Work Together

While the brokerage's location is certainly helpful in attracting new buyers, its substantial growth over the past few years has largely been due to the dedication of its agents and staff, especially during the COVID shutdown.

"When we were at home, we never stopped meeting," says Barrington. "We ended up meeting five times a week. We didn't stop working, and that's attributed to all the agents and their dedication as professionals in the craft."

Levin Rinke has a strong culture of collaboration among its agents. Their leadership team encourages a mindset of abundance and truly believes "a rising tide lifts all boats" as a metaphor for encouragement towards their peers and celebrating everyone's success, big or small. 

"It's amazing to see not just our company grow, but the number of deals we do with each other grow as well," explains Barrington. "Our agents want to work with our other agents because they trust we will get the job done with the clients' best interest at heart. We always tell agents to remember our 'pie,' aka the market share in our area, is not shrinking but growing. We only have 15% of it, so we work hard to earn part of the other 85%."

This collaborative culture has significantly benefited Levin Rinke Realty in recruiting and retaining agents who value working in this uplifting environment. 

"I think our culture is driving a lot of experienced agents who have been with brokers for a long-established amount of time to come to our company," says Barrington. "They love the agents here; they love working with them. It's just a no-brainer, especially for these seasoned professionals."

Assisting Military Families

Pensacola Beach has several military bases specializing in aviation and training. Many Levin Rinke Realty agents are veterans eager to serve local military families looking to buy or sell a home.

"Our agents are incredible at helping them navigate the home-buying and selling process when they inevitably transition out of this area," says Barrington. "And they're very cognizant of helping them through those challenging financial situations you can be in if you have to move every two years."

Independence Enables Them to Keep Adapting

Being an independent company has afforded Levin Rinke the flexibility to adapt easily to changing trends and market conditions. This helps them stay ahead of their franchise competitors and has been another leading factor in their success in retention and attracting new agents to the brokerage.

"Many of these older franchises are dying because it takes them such a long time to adapt and overcome market conditions," says Barrington. "Being independent, we can be incredibly flexible and autonomous to do what we must to stay ahead."

Levin Rinke Realty's most recent strategy for staying adaptable was choosing a new marketing technology provider. A little over a year ago, the brokerage partnered with Delta Media Group after seeing how it could provide its agents with highly effective, customizable websites.

"We love the customization for the agent websites and how they can use company templates while making it their own," says Barrington. "The websites are beautiful, but they function; you often see beauty without functionality. With any Delta Media website I've used, it's easy to navigate; they get those same great features we have on our main page. They're professional and effective."

Their previous website and CRM provider didn't offer these functional agent websites or a robust all-in-one system with a single sign-on.

"Our previous provider lacked customizable agent websites and a unified intranet with single sign-on for third-party integrations," says Barrington. "Now, we have a robust, full-service platform instead of separate systems for our website, CRM, and other tools."

Working With a Website Provider Specializing in SEO

Levin Rinke's partnership with Delta has been extremely helpful for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). They appreciate having a dedicated team member who ensures they are always on the first page of Google search results, increasing their click-through rates. They also appreciate the detailed reporting, which they use for geo-targeting. 

"One of the things that we've been able to do successfully is utilize the data in the SEO reports to see what locations buyers are coming from for better ad targeting," says Barrington. "For example, we found many luxury clients were coming from Chicago. So now we'll target that area digitally for our luxury clients through an online ad."

Levin Rinke customizes its blog using Delta's Content Marketing Services to aid its website's SEO. They blend real estate and lifestyle content with Delta Content Specialist Debbie Briggs.

"Our tagline is 'Own the lifestyle,'" notes Barrington. "It's amazing how someone not from our area can customize a blog and work with us to represent the lifestyle here truly."

Social Connector is another tool they use to improve SEO on their brokerage and agent sites. The automated feature found in the DeltaNET® all-in-one platform effortlessly improves online visibility. 

Barrington says, "The social connector is incredibly easy to set up, and it is one of the most important things I think an agent can use because it ensures that you're providing consistent, valuable content on all of your platforms."

Levin Rinke appreciates that Delta integrates technology from third-party vendors into its website and works directly with that vendor rather than asking you to be the "middleman," as many providers do. This frees up their time to focus on more important things, like running the brokerage and assisting agents. 

"Being the middleman between two technical people is not who I want to be," says Barrington. "So I really appreciate that Delta's tech team will get on the phone with a vendor and help however they can."

Reaching Buyers Through a Robust Software System

Starting as a small development company in a beautiful location, Levin Rinke Realty became the top independent brokerage by effectively marketing luxury homes and an irresistible beachfront lifestyle. Delta Media Group's robust all-in-one system, which includes customizable websites, unmatched SEO services, and a full toolkit of automated marketing features, is helping Levin Rinke Realty reach more buyers than ever and keep up with increased market demand. With Delta marketing and technology, Levin Rinke Realty can continue doing what it does best: selling the luxury beach lifestyle.

For more information about Levin Rinke Realty, visit levinrinkerealty.com.