Fair Value Disclosures

6 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2023

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, 2023		October 31, 2022
Residential Mortgage Loans Held for Sale	Level 2	$	112,603	$	185,150
Forward Loan Commitments — Residential Mortgage Loans Held for Sale	Level 2	$	1,396	$	9,184
Interest Rate Lock Commitments (“IRLCs”)	Level 2	$	(2,884)	$	(17,734)
Forward Loan Commitments — IRLCs	Level 2	$	2,884	$	17,734
Interest Rate Swap Contracts	Level 2	$	33,214	$	45,010

At April 30, 2023 and October 31, 2022, the carrying value of cash and cash equivalents, escrow cash held by our wholly owned captive title company, and customer deposits held in escrow approximated fair value.

The fair values of the interest rate swap contracts are included in “Receivables, prepaid expenses and other assets” in our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets and are determined using widely accepted valuation techniques including discounted cash flow analysis based on the expected cash flows of each swap contract. Although the Company has determined that the significant inputs, such as interest yield curve and discount rate, used to value its interest rate swap contracts fall within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy, the credit valuation adjustments associated with our counterparties and our own credit risk utilize Level 3 inputs, such as estimates of current credit spreads to evaluate the likelihood of default by us and our counterparties. However, as of April 30, 2023, we have assessed the significance of the impact of the credit valuation adjustments on the overall valuation of our interest rate swap contract positions and have determined that the credit valuation adjustments were not significant to the overall valuation of our interest rate swap contracts. As a result, we have determined that our interest rate swap contracts valuations in their entirety are classified in Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.

Mortgage Loans Held for Sale

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 and commitments using the market approach to determine fair value.

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		Fair value greater (less) than principal balance
At April 30, 2023	$	115,286	$	112,603	$	(2,683)
At October 31, 2022	$	193,746	$	185,150	$	(8,596)

Inventory

We recognize inventory impairment charges and land 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. In determining the fair value related to land impairments, we consider recent offers received, prices for land in recent comparable sales transactions, and other factors. We record land impairments related to land parcels we plan to sell to third parties within land sales and other cost of revenues. See Note 1, “Significant Accounting Policies – Inventory,” in our 2022 Form 10-K for additional information regarding our methodology for determining fair value. Impairments on operating communities were insignificant during the three-month and six-month periods ended April 30, 2023 and 2022 and, accordingly, we did not disclose the ranges of certain quantitative unobservable inputs utilized in determining the fair value of such impaired operating communities.

Debt

The table below provides, as of the dates indicated, the book value, excluding any bond discounts, premiums, and deferred issuance costs, and estimated fair value of our debt (amounts in thousands):


		April 30, 2023				October 31, 2022
	Fair value hierarchy	Book value		Estimated fair value		Book value		Estimated fair value
Loans payable (1)	Level 2	$	1,139,869	$	1,123,766	$	1,187,043	$	1,180,893
Senior notes (2)	Level 1	1,600,000		1,536,985		2,000,000		1,822,255
Mortgage company loan facility (3)	Level 2	102,489		102,489		148,863		148,863
		$	2,842,358	$	2,763,240	$	3,335,906	$	3,152,011

(1) 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.

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

(3) 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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