Southern Development Joins Keystone Custom Homes Team

A newly announced combination between Keystone Custom Homes and Southern Development Homes instantly fills a strategic geographic gap along the Eastern Seaboard — connecting Keystone’s Pennsylvania-to-Carolinas footprint with Charlottesville, Virginia, and surrounding Central Virginia markets.

But this partnership was never just about the map for the two leaders who inked the deal — Keystone CEO Jeff Rutt and Southern Development founder Frank Ballif.

This is not just another way to increase revenue,” says Rutt. “We’re focused on profit for purpose. That’s what makes this combination different.”

The heart of that shared purpose? A longstanding connection through Homes for HOPE, the nonprofit builder initiative aligned with HOPE International, which supports entrepreneurs in underserved global markets with microloans and economic empowerment tools.

Frank and I got to know each other personally through Homes for HOPE,” Rutt explains. “He did a charity home, brought his family to the Dominican Republic, and we visited Haitian villages together. We saw the power of microfinance firsthand — and it changed everything.”

Ballif remembers the moment with similar clarity:

Watching those entrepreneurs tell you about their businesses with such pride — it was overwhelming. It was life-changing. That’s where the alignment with Keystone started.”

Builder Advisor Group served as Keystone Custom Homes' exclusive advisor in the transaction:

Frank and his team have been nimble, scrappy, smart — and deeply connected in Charlottesville,” Rutt says. “We believe in local. It’s all about the people. You can’t replace that.”

The deal's operational and geographic logic is also clear. Keystone, based in Lancaster, PA, has expanded steadily southward—from its Mid-Atlantic base into the Charlotte metro and now into South Carolina. Charlottesville and the Central Virginia region represent a crucial puzzle piece in that corridor, one that brings local strength, relationships, and development know-how.

Ballif, who started Southern Development in 1999 “with no money and a lot of borrowed capital,” now oversees a land-rich private builder with strong community ties and a deliberate approach to growth. But he’s also clear-eyed about what lies ahead.

We’ve had a good run operating independently,” Ballif says. “But the market is changing, and so are the capital requirements. This partnership gives us a longer runway and the resources to keep doing great things.”

A Strategic Window for Private Builders

The timing of this combination — Spring 2025 — is no accident. After a strong 2023 and early 2024, public builders have seen their sales pace stumble in Q1 and Q2 amid rising mortgage rates, sticky home prices, and the ripple effects of the April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff policy. As a result, many are pausing or walking away from land deals, waiting to re-enter at lower basis costs.

What brought Keystone and Southern Development together may have been a shared mission through HOPE International, but what ultimately sealed the deal is performance," says Tony Avila, CEO of Builder Advisor Group. "These are two of the most capable private builders in their respective markets — highly disciplined operators with proven track records. Purpose is powerful, but in this case, it aligned with best-in-class execution.”

That pause has created a window for private, well-capitalized operators like Keystone and Southern Development.

Right now, there’s a lot of noise in the market,” Rutt acknowledges. “We don’t know what will happen next week or next month. But we do know we can keep building dream homes and investing in dreams.”

The ability to execute with purpose, discipline, and speed — unencumbered by Wall Street cycles — is emerging as a core competitive advantage. And in a consolidating market, mission can matter every bit as much as muscle.

In 2019, Jeff Rutt donated 89% of Keystone's ownership to the National Christian Foundation to further the company's value of giving back. This action sparked a new slogan underscored by bedrock values and principles: "We are Craftsmen For The Common Good."

Ben Rutt, Jeff’s son and Keystone’s VP of Sales and Marketing, sees this moment where cultural differentiation truly counts.

We’ve seen great feedback from our customers, employees, and vendors — they’re looking for more meaning beyond just revenue or market growth,” he says. “This partnership is about purpose beyond the home or the job. It gives us reason to build with even more excellence because we know we’re part of something bigger.”

Craftsmen for the Common Good

Both companies emphasize that this is not a traditional acquisition. The partnership allows Southern Development’s leadership and operations to remain intact, while Keystone’s systems, scale, and shared values are added.

It starts with the why,” says Rutt. “We want everyone involved — from our team to our trade partners — to be successful and profitable. But we’re doing this for something larger than ourselves.”

Rutt’s leadership philosophy is rooted in Keystone’s unique ownership structure. Ninety percent of the company is owned by the National Christian Foundation, which redirects profits to charitable causes like HOPE International.

Our story began because someone gave us a break,” Rutt says. “That’s why we’re passionate about giving others a chance — whether it’s a local trade crew or an entrepreneur on the other side of the world.”

Ballif, too, sees the power of cultural clarity.

It’s not easy to combine two separate teams and make them one,” he says. “But the hard stuff becomes possible when a higher mission unites you. We’re not doing this just for size or scale. We’re doing it because we believe in using business as a force for good.”

A Market That Still Values Choice

Despite headlines focused on affordability constraints and demand softening, both teams report resilience among discretionary buyers — especially those who value a personalized experience.

Our average sale price is over $900,000,” Rutt notes. “Our buyers are often less affected by rates, but they’re still looking for something that fits their life and purpose. That’s our job — to help them personalize a future, not just time the market.”

This aligns with a broader strategic belief that homes shouldn’t become commodities.

We believe the market deserves the opportunity to choose,” says Ben Rutt. “A home should reflect the buyer's unique needs — not be a commodity. We’ve seen the market respond when we offer personalized homes at production scale and pricing.”

What Comes Next

The two companies now operate as a unified team, with the Southern Development brand and leadership staying in place, bolstered by Keystone’s infrastructure, experience, and deeper resources.

In a high-interest-rate, high-uncertainty environment like we’re in now, private builders with clean balance sheets and real operational edge can find ways to win," says Builder Advisor Group's Tony Avila. "They’re agile, they move faster than the public builders encumbered by quarterly earnings cycles, and they’re closer to the customer. Scale still matters, but so does adaptability — and that’s where a lot of these elite private operators are gaining ground.”

In a landscape where scale, systems, and staying power often dominate headlines, this deal highlights a different blueprint based on purpose, cultural alignment, and people-centered leadership.

Craftsmen for the common good,” Rutt says, invoking the company’s internal motto. “That’s who we are. And that’s the kind of builder we want to be — every day, in every community.”