Fair Value Disclosures

6 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2015

Fair Value Disclosures

Financial Instruments

The table below provides, as of the dates indicated, a summary of assets (liabilities) related to our financial instruments, measured at fair value on a recurring basis (amounts in thousands):



		Fair value
Financial Instrument	Fair value hierarchy	April 30, 2015			October 31, 2014
Marketable Securities	Level 2	$	10,015		$	12,026
Residential Mortgage Loans Held for Sale	Level 2	$	80,864		$	101,944
Forward Loan Commitments—Residential Mortgage Loans Held for Sale	Level 2	$	16		$	(341	)
Interest Rate Lock Commitments (“IRLCs”)	Level 2	$	(969	)	$	(108	)
Forward Loan Commitments—IRLCs	Level 2	$	969		$	108

At April 30, 2015 and October 31, 2014, the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash approximated fair value.

Marketable Securities

The fair value of our marketable securities approximates the amortized cost basis as of April 30, 2015 and October 31, 2014. The estimated fair values of marketable securities are based on quoted prices provided by brokers. The remaining contractual maturity of marketable securities as of April 30, 2015 was seven months.

Mortgage Loans Held for Sale

The table below provides, as of the dates indicated, the aggregate unpaid principal and fair value of mortgage loans held for sale (amounts in thousands):



	Aggregate unpaid principal balance		Fair value		Excess
At April 30, 2015	$	79,984	$	80,864	$	880
At October 31, 2014	$	100,463	$	101,944	$	1,481

At the end of the reporting period, we determine the fair value of our mortgage loans held for sale and the forward loan commitments we have entered into as a hedge against the interest rate risk of our mortgage loans using the market approach to determine fair value. The evaluation is based on the current market pricing of mortgage loans with similar terms and values as of the reporting date and by applying such pricing to the mortgage loan portfolio. We recognize the difference between the fair value and the unpaid principal balance of mortgage loans held for sale as a gain or loss. In addition, we recognize the fair value of our forward loan commitments as a gain or loss. These gains and losses are included in “Other income - net” in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income. Interest income on mortgage loans held for sale is calculated based upon the stated interest rate of each loan and is included in “Other income - net.”

IRLCs represent individual borrower agreements that commit us to lend at a specified price for a specified period as long as there is no violation of any condition established in the commitment contract. These commitments have varying degrees of interest rate risk. We utilize best efforts forward loan commitments (“Forward Commitments”) to hedge the interest rate risk of the IRLCs and residential mortgage loans held for sale. Forward Commitments represent contracts with third-party investors for the future delivery of loans whereby we agree to make delivery at a specified future date at a specified price. The IRLCs and Forward Commitments are considered derivative financial instruments under ASC 815, “Derivatives and Hedging,” which requires derivative financial instruments to be recorded at fair value. We estimate the fair value of such commitments based on the estimated fair value of the underlying mortgage loan and, in the case of IRLCs, the probability that the mortgage loan will fund within the terms of the IRLC. The fair values of IRLCs and forward loan commitments are included in either “Receivables, prepaid expenses and other assets” or “Accrued expenses” in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets, as appropriate. To manage the risk of non-performance of investors regarding the Forward Commitments, we assess the credit worthiness of the investors on a periodic basis.

Inventory

We recognize inventory impairment charges based on the difference in the carrying value of the inventory and its fair value at the time of the evaluation. The fair value of the aforementioned inventory was determined using Level 3 criteria. Estimated fair value is primarily determined by discounting the estimated future cash flow of each community. See Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies – Inventory” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2014 for additional information regarding our methodology on determining fair value. As further discussed in Note 1 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2014, determining the fair value of a community’s inventory involves a number of variables, many of which are interrelated. If we used a different input for any of the various unobservable inputs used in our impairment analysis, the results of the analysis may have been different, absent any other changes. The table below summarizes, for the periods indicated, the ranges of certain quantitative unobservable inputs utilized in determining the fair value of impaired communities:



Three months ended:	Selling price per unit (in thousands)	Sales pace per year (in units)	Discount rate
Fiscal 2015:
January 31	$289 - $680	1 - 7	13.5% - 16.0%
April 30	$527 - $600	13 - 25	17.0%

Fiscal 2014:
January 31	$388 - $405	21 - 23	16.6%
April 30	$634 - $760	4 - 7	12.0% - 15.3%
July 31	$698 - $1,233	10 - 22	15.9%
October 31	$337 - $902	7 - 23	12.5% - 16.5%

The table below provides, for the periods indicated, the fair value of operating communities whose carrying value was adjusted and the amount of impairment charges recognized ($ amounts in thousands):



		Impaired operating communities
Three months ended:	Number of communities tested	Number of communities	Fair value of communities, net of impairment charges		Impairment charges
Fiscal 2015:
January 31	58	4	$	24,968	$	900
April 30	52	1	$	16,235	11,100
					$	12,000
Fiscal 2014:
January 31	67	1	$	7,131	$	1,300
April 30	65	2	$	6,211	1,600
July 31	63	1	$	14,122	4,800
October 31	55	7	$	38,473	9,855
					$	17,555

The impairment charge recorded in the three-month period ended April 30, 2015 related to one community located in the North geographic segment.

Debt

The table below provides, as of the dates indicated, the book value and estimated fair value of our debt (amounts in thousands):



		April 30, 2015				October 31, 2014
	Fair value hierarchy	Book value		Estimated fair value		Book value		Estimated fair value
Loans payable (a)	Level 2	$	674,817	$	674,649	$	654,261	$	652,944
Senior notes (b)	Level 1	2,657,376		2,852,929		2,657,376		2,821,559
Mortgage company loan facility (c)	Level 2	70,052		70,052		90,281		90,281
		$	3,402,245	$	3,597,630	$	3,401,918	$	3,564,784


(a)	The estimated fair value of loans payable was based upon contractual cash flows discounted at interest rates that we believed were available to us for loans with similar terms and remaining maturities as of the applicable valuation date.


(b)	The estimated fair value of our senior notes is based upon their market prices as of the applicable valuation date.


(c)	We believe that the carrying value of our mortgage company loan borrowings approximates their fair value.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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