A Storied Past & Visionary Future

Art Rutenberg began homebuilding in 1953 and, from the very beginning, was an industry pioneer. His ideals were simple, yet revolutionary: deliver innovative, original home designs of exceptional quality, all while providing a pleasant buying experience.

These ideals helped his company grow to become the largest network of franchise custom homebuilders in the country. They also led to his induction into the Housing Hall of Fame, among many incredible career milestones.

Today, they serve as the foundation of our company, and we honor Art’s legacy with a continued focus on customer experience. We strive to bring new innovative home designs to life with the finest materials, craftsmanship, and techniques available, treating each client’s vision as our ultimate inspiration.

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Founded in 1953

Chicago appliance dealer, Arthur Rutenberg, invested in ten home sites in Clearwater, Florida. By 1960, his homebuilding company had expanded to both Florida coasts.

The 50s: Design Innovation

Though simple and solid, the first home designs were innovative. Arthur Rutenberg is credited with introducing the split floor plan, the centrally located kitchen, wider hallways and doors, and great views throughout.

The 60s: Exponential Growth

In 1969, Art was approached by a builder who wanted to forge a national homebuilding company. The joint company was called U.S. Home and Development Corporation. By 1972, with 23 companies under its umbrella, it was the largest homebuilder in the country.

The 70s: A Time for Change

1978 saw the creation of Arthur Rutenberg Homes, an all-new franchise system for the homebuilding industry. “It’s not like you get this one big hit and that’s how you find success,” Art Rutenberg once said. “You have to earn your wings every day.”

1978: The First Franchise

Tampa builders, Bobby Lyons and Charles Raffo, became the first franchisees, building their first model home in Carrollwood, a north Tampa subdivision. Bobby Lyons remains an AR Homes® builder to this day, with two highly successful Florida franchises.

40 Years of Growth & Success

AR Homes® growth was a direct result of its reputation for world-class homes. Arthur Rutenberg was regularly honored, including the 1986 National Builder of The Year award by Professional Builder magazine and his 2017 induction into the National Housing Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest honor.

AR Homes® Today

Arthur Rutenberg’s vision is upheld by our independent builders in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Texas. Their commitment to customer satisfaction has made AR Homes® one of the nation’s largest networks of independently owned and operated homebuilding companies.

The AR Homes® Difference

As a perennial industry innovator, AR Homes® builders have the distinct advantage of best-in-class building resources, innovative design and budgeting software, as well as our unrelenting desire to meticulously craft homes we would be proud to call our own.

Local Expertise,
World-Class Quality
When you choose an AR Homes® builder, you’re choosing to work with a local expert whose knowledge of the market and building practices is unsurpassed. When you build a custom home, you deserve local expertise from a professional who understands and maintains relationships with local authorities, communities, vendors, and subcontractors. When you work with the best, you experience a superior building process.
The Highest Standards
of Craftmanship
Experiencing is believing and nothing demonstrates the quality of an AR Home® better than our model homes. We stand behind our work with a builder’s guarantee that your custom home will be built with the same attention to quality and detail – or even higher – as our model homes.
Award-Winning,
Fully Customizable Plans
There’s nothing off-the-shelf about our vast collection of award-winning and fully customizable home designs. Each one stands on its own architectural merits, and with more than 300 designs ranging from 2,000-7,000 square feet, the possibilities are endless.
High Technology
Drives Our Artistry
AR Homes® uses cutting-edge architectural design technology. Our dedicated team of designers, working directly with our builders, use powerful 3D software to produce plans you can experience virtually before construction starts; including 3D lot fits, walk-throughs and more.
Dedication to
Transparent Pricing
AR Homes® proprietary estimating system was designed to give buyers peace-of-mind by providing a firm price at the outset of the homebuilding process. Our systems combines superior plan design, quality products from leading manufacturers, timelines, and fixed prices related to the completion of your home, allowing AR Homes® builders to provide extremely competitive and accurate upfront pricing.
An Elevated
Experience
When you entrust our builders to create your custom home, you will experience attentive, personalized, and transparent service before, during, and after construction. From the moment you begin the custom homebuying journey and plan your new home, we’ll provide you with an exceptional experience that will keep you inspired, enthused, and informed every step of the way.

Making Your Dream Home A Reality

Building your dream home should be a fun, efficient and exciting experience. With AR Homes®, it is. We’ve spent more than 40 years helping people create custom homes that fit their unique needs and budgets while earning their trust along the way. Here’s how we do it.

Seeing is Believing

Visit one of our model homes to experience AR Homes® meticulous craftsmanship and world-class interior design firsthand or use our interactive walk-through technology to tour homes virtually from anywhere.

Design Exploration

Choose from hundreds of award-winning and fully customizable home designs, or start from scratch, we’ll work with you to understand your lifestyle and needs as you explore the endless possibilities.

An Ideal Location

A home is immeasurably more beautiful when built in the perfect setting. Our franchisees provide extensive local knowledge and experience in helping customers find their extraordinary home location. Whether in a prestigious community or a private lot, there’s only one place that can be called home.

Designed For You

Add a room, enlarge a kitchen, or create a custom elevation, our Personalized Floor Plan process will provide you with a fully customized plan typically within days.

Every Dollar Accounted For

Our rapid quoting process provides you with detailed pricing for your fully customized home in days, not weeks or months. Pricing is final and guaranteed – no mysteries or unquantifiable allowances.

Ready To Build

Our detailed Building Agreement clearly denotes where every dollar is being spent and states explicitly that your new home “Will have craftsmanship equal to or better than the model home you visited.”

Décor is in the Details

AR Homes® interior designers have an intimate and detailed understanding of your new home, as well as deep expertise in the latest furnishings, window treatments and finishing materials on the market.

Building Your Dream Home

With all the selections and decisions finalized prior to start, you will be free to enjoy watching your new home come to life, and best of all, we build with quality you can see, touch and understand.

Peace of Mind

You deserve the best warranty in the business and our builders deliver. They offer the strongest warranty in the industry and augment the industry standard One Year Warranty on Systems and Ten Years on Structure.
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Plans (Perfectly) Tailored to Your Wishes

Design and build a home as unique as your vision with AR Homes® Personalized Floor Plan. With hundreds of award-winning floor plans as the foundation, our talented architectural designers can customize your home to your every desire.

Explore Plans
Enjoy a Complimentary Edition of AR Living®

AR Living Magazine® showcases a wide array of our newest and most spectacular model homes, most of which are open for you to tour today. We boast one of the nation’s most accomplished residential design teams who continually innovate, and pioneer new concepts inspired by emerging trends in architecture and design. Our hope is that the current edition of AR Living® inspires you to make your dream home a reality.

Explore AR Living®
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