AR Homes Nashville & Knoxville (The Ernst Group LLC)

What AR Homes Nashville & Knoxville (The Ernst Group LLC) does

The Ernst Group, LLC is a privately held, independently owned and operated franchise of the AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg) network that designs and builds luxury custom homes in Middle Tennessee. Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Hendersonville, TN, the franchise targets affluent buyers in the Greater Nashville Area, including Nashville, Brentwood, Spring Hill, Franklin, Hendersonville, Greenhills, and Gallatin. The company's product is fully customizable luxury residences built either on buyer-owned lots or within premier planned communities across the region.

The firm's core offering centers on the AR Homes brand's proprietary Personalized Floor Plan process, which enables buyers to customize award-winning floor plans — including bestsellers like the Arlington plan and the sold-out Andover model home in Fairvue Plantation — typically within days rather than weeks or months. A contract-included interior designer supports buyers through 2-day color selection sessions, and a dedicated project manager guides each build from initial design through completion. Technical differentiation is process-driven (speed of customization, design studio services, model home quality guarantee) rather than technology-platform-driven; no AI/ML capabilities, software products, APIs, or proprietary digital tooling are disclosed.

The Ernst Group generates revenue through one-off luxury home construction contracts with pricing starting from $1M per home (excluding homesite costs). Pricing for the Andover model home began in the low $1,100,000s. Go-to-market is direct, consultative field sales supported by furnished model home showrooms north and south of Nashville, community partnerships in 10+ premier developments, and digital marketing via the franchise website and social channels. Customer mix is primarily affluent individual home buyers, with secondary segments comprising lot owners seeking builders for existing homesites and community-based buyers in specific luxury developments such as Fairvue Plantation, Annecy, and Bella Collina. No institutional funding, M&A activity, or ownership restructuring is disclosed in available sources.

Name

AR Homes Nashville & Knoxville (The Ernst Group LLC)

Legal name

Ernst Group, LLC

Website

https://arhomes-nashville.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Ernst Group, LLC operates an AR Homes luxury custom home franchise in Middle Tennessee, designing and building fully customizable residences starting from $1M for affluent buyers, on buyer-owned lots or within 10+ premier planned communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Home Building

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Home Building (IMAFABAC)

Keywords

• Luxury custom homes
• Custom home building
• Residential construction
• Home builder franchise
• New home construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Hendersonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Home Construction: Revenue is generated through the construction and sale of luxury custom homes. Customers purchase homesites separately (not included in home pricing). The company builds on customer lots and in premiere communities throughout Middle Tennessee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Ernst Group, LLC, doing business as AR Homes Nashville & Knoxville, is a privately held luxury custom home builder operating as an independently owned franchise of the national AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg) brand. The company designs and builds custom single-family residences for individual homeowners in the Greater Nashville Area of Tennessee, and was founded in 2013 with 11–50 employees.

Product overview

AR Homes™ by The Ernst Group, LLC is a luxury custom home builder operating as an independently owned and operated franchise. The core offering is award-winning, fully customizable home designs with model homes across the Greater Nashville Area. The portfolio includes the Andover and Arlington model homes, a proprietary Personalized Floor Plan customization process, professional Design Studio services, and build opportunities in premier communities including Fairvue Plantation, Brentwood, Annecy, and others. Buyers can build on their lot or choose from established communities, with pricing starting from $1M (excluding homesite).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Luxury Home Building Design and construction of custom, single-family luxury residences under the AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg) franchise system, delivered to individual homeowners in the Greater Nashville Area and Knoxville, Tennessee markets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of homes built with no two exactly alike

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerThe Ernst Group operates as an independently owned and operated AR Homes franchise. They leverage the AR Homes brand, award-winning designs, proprietary processes, and national marketing support while maintaining local market operations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Drees Homes: Family-owned custom homebuilder with Nashville-area operations in premier communities. Comparable as a regional custom builder offering personalized floor plans and design services to affluent buyers.
• Ashton Woods Homes: Design-driven custom and move-up homebuilder with active communities in Nashville. Comparable as a premium-positioned builder offering customizable floor plans and design personalization services to affluent buyers.
• Schumacher Homes: National custom homebuilder specializing in on-your-lot fully custom designs. Comparable as a custom builder with a defined personalization process and design center model.
• John Wieland Homes: Custom homebuilder known for design personalization and community-based luxury builds. Comparable as a premium builder offering customizable plans and design centers in master-planned communities.
• Woodlands Custom Homes: Luxury custom homebuilder in the Nashville area. Comparable as a regional peer targeting the same affluent buyers with fully custom, design-driven single-family homes in premier communities.
• David Weekley Homes: Large privately held custom homebuilder with design centers and reputation for buyer personalization. Comparable in delivering branded custom homes with design studio services in community settings.

Broad incumbents

• PulteGroup: Large national homebuilder with Centex, Del Webb, Pulte, and John Wieland brands active in Nashville. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering multiple price tiers and custom-design options in the same regional market.
• AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg): National franchisor of AR Homes (Arthur Rutenberg), the brand under which The Ernst Group operates. Comparable because it provides the design library, brand, and playbook that the Nashville franchise commercializes into luxury custom homes.
• Toll Brothers: U.S. luxury homebuilder with significant operations in the Nashville area. Comparable as a large incumbent in the custom/luxury detached home segment, with overlapping buyer demographics and community-based build strategy.

Regional players

• CastleRock Communities: Luxury custom homebuilder based in the southeastern U.S. with a similar community- and customization-driven model. Comparable for its focus on bespoke luxury homes and design personalization, though it is not directly active in the Nashville market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ARHomesNashville
• Instagraminstagram.com/arhomes.nashville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ar-homes-nashville-the-ernst-group-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about AR Homes Nashville & Knoxville (The Ernst Group LLC)