Product Warranty

3 Months Ended

Feb. 28, 2015

Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]

Product Warranty

Product Warranty

Warranty and similar reserves for homes are established at an amount estimated to be adequate to cover potential costs for materials and labor with regard to warranty-type claims expected to be incurred subsequent to the delivery of a home. Reserves are determined based on historical data and trends with respect to similar product types and geographical areas. The Company regularly monitors the warranty reserve and makes adjustments to its pre-existing warranties in order to reflect changes in trends and historical data as information becomes available. Warranty reserves are included in other liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The activity in the Company’s warranty reserve was as follows:

	Three Months Ended
	February 28,
(In thousands)	2015			2014
Warranty reserve, beginning of period	$	115,927		102,580
Warranties issued	13,323			10,392
Adjustments to pre-existing warranties from changes in estimates (1)	3,661			2,120
Payments	(16,640		)	(13,995	)
Warranty reserve, end of period	$	116,271		101,097

(1) The adjustments to pre-existing warranties from changes in estimates during the three months ended February 28, 2015 and 2014 primarily related to specific claims related to certain of our homebuilding communities and other adjustments.