Carolina Beach Realty: Your Gateway to Pleasure Island

Carolina Beach Realty's partnership with LiveRez.com has allowed the business to dramatically increase its web presence.

Carolina Beach Realty
Location: Carolina Beach, NC
Website: CarolinaBeachRealty.net
Quick Quote: “In the two years that we’ve been dealing with LiveRez, the rate of growth in our business has doubled and our revenues have increased tremendously. I really attribute a lot of that to the presence LiveRez has given us on the Internet.”

Imagine taking a trip back in time – to a place that’s family friendly, with uncrowded beaches and where a business really hangs its hat on true customer service.

It’s not a dream – it’s called Pleasure Island. And with 45 years of experience in the area, Carolina Beach Realty has the inside track to a wonderful vacation there.

The company offers a wide variety of homes and condos for rent, ranging in size from one to seven bedrooms, with a variety of ocean front and ocean view properties, and at prices that can fit a wide variety of budgets. Its selection of properties is among the largest offered on the small island.

Every week during the summer months, the local chamber hosts a fireworks show. It's just one of the many family-friendly activities that visitors will find on Pleasure Island.

Pleasure Island is only about 8 miles long, but it encompasses both Carolina Beach, Kure Beach and the Fort Fisher Historic Area, the third-most visited historical site in all of North Carolina. All together the island offers a laid-back atmosphere, set amidst beautiful, unspoiled beaches.

“We just don’t have the crowds that you have to fight with,” said Jim Kitts, co-owner of Carolina Beach Realty. “But there are plenty of activities available – so it’s not like a ghost town, either.”

Those activities include, among other things, a fireworks show that takes places every Thursday night at the Carolina Beach Boardwalk during the summer months, and a family movie night at Carolina Beach Lake where families can bring their lawn chairs and blankets, and enjoy a family-appropriate movie projected on a big screen.

“It’s a very family-friendly and family-oriented beach,” said Kitts.“Our local chamber does a great job of providing family-oriented activities.”

Carolina Beach Realty itself is a family-oriented business. Kitts and his wife took over the business seven years ago from her father.  And, today they still offer that same old-school customer service that the business is known for.

One of the many beautiful views visitors can find out the window of their vacation home when they book with Carolina Beach Realty.

“To me that’s the most important thing – to offer that friendly, polite, courteous customer service that, quite frankly, isn’t easy to find these days,” he said.

Kitts said they try to offer people the same respect and same level of service that that they, themselves, would expect.

And, it’s not just service to the many guests that frequent Carolina Beach Realty’s vacation homes – it’s also a high level of service to the owners of these homes.

“It’s our job to make both sides of that transaction happy,” Kitts said.

Kitts said that balancing the needs of customers with owners can be challenging at times, but that his business works hard and, most importantly, tries to be fair at every turn.

“We don’t hit a homerun at every at bat, but we do our best,” said Kitts, a former NFL running back. “We figure if we get enough base hits, we’ll be successful, and that’s what we’ve done.”

One of the many outstanding vacation homes offered by Carolina Beach Realty.

The word “successful,” however, is an understatement when it comes to Kitts and Carolina Beach Realty. The company has experienced growth in every year since the Kitts have taken the reins, even through the recent recession.

And, according to Kitts, that growth took a shot in the arm when the company became a LiveRez partner two years ago.

“In the two years that we’ve been dealing with LiveRez, the rate of growth in our business has doubled and our revenues have increased tremendously,” he said. “I really attribute a lot of that to the presence LiveRez has given us on the Internet.”

After switching to LiveRez, Kitts experienced increases in search engine placement, and his website traffic received a considerable boost.

“The hits on our website have probably increased 65 to 70 percent, if not more, since we started using LiveRez,” said Kitts, who also noted a big increase in web bookings.

Kitts said this web presence has not only helped them pick up new customers, but also attract new owners.

“Obviously when people buy property and they’re looking for someone to manage it for them, the first place they’re going to go is the Internet – just like the people that are looking for a vacation,” Kitts said. “When we come up first and show a strong presence online, it gives us good credibility.”

Some of the stunning accommodations offered by Carolina Beach Realty.

According to Kitts, the interest from owners wanting to list their homes through his management company has been almost overwhelming. Right now his business is growing about as fast his infrastructure can handle.

“We’ve grown tremendously in just a short period of time,” he said. “We’ve got to the point where I kind of have to throttle back on the properties that I take on.”

The rush of traffic to CarolinaBeachRealty.net and the rapid growth of the business provide a perfect contrast to the quiet splendor of Pleasure Island.

You see, the most crowded part of Pleasure Island could very likely be Kitts’ LiveRez-powered website.