Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. ("HEI") conducts all of its homebuilding and
financial services operations through its subsidiaries (references herein to the
"Company," "we," "us" or "our" refer to HEI and its consolidated subsidiaries
and should be understood to reflect the consolidated business of HEI's
subsidiaries).



Key Performance Indicators





The following key performance indicators are commonly used in the homebuilding
industry and by management as a means to better understand our operating
performance, trends affecting our business and compare our performance with the
performance of other homebuilders. We believe these key performance indicators
also provide useful information to investors in analyzing our performance:



  ? Net contracts is a volume indicator which represents the number of new
    contracts executed during the period for the purchase of homes, less
    cancellations of contracts in the same period. The dollar value of net

contracts represents the dollars associated with net contracts executed in the


    period. These values are an indicator of potential future revenues;



? Contract backlog is a volume indicator which represents the number of homes

that are under contract, but not yet delivered as of the stated date. The

dollar value of contract backlog represents the dollar amount of the homes in

contract backlog. These values are an indicator of potential future revenues;

? Active selling communities is a volume indicator which represents the number

of communities which are open for sale with ten or more home sites available

as of the end of a period. We identify communities based on product

type; therefore at times there are multiple communities at one land site.


    These values are an indicator of potential revenues;



? Net contracts per average active selling community is used to indicate the

pace at which homes are being sold (put into contract) in active selling

communities and is calculated by dividing the number of net contracts in a

period by the average number of active selling communities in the same period.


    Sales pace is an indicator of market strength and demand; and



? Contract cancellation rates is a volume indicator which represents the number

of sales contracts cancelled in the period divided by the number of gross

sales contracts executed during the period. Contract cancellation rates as a

percentage of backlog is calculated by dividing the number of cancelled

contracts in the period by the contract backlog at the beginning of the

period. Cancellation rates as compared to prior periods can be an indicator of


    market strength or weakness.




Overview



Market Conditions and COVID-19 Impact and Strategy





The demand for new and existing homes is dependent on a variety of demographic
and economic factors, including job and wage growth, household formation,
consumer confidence, mortgage financing, interest rates and overall housing
affordability. In general, at the start of our fiscal year, factors including
rising levels of household formation, a constrained supply of new and used
homes, wage growth, strong employment conditions and mortgage rates that
continue to be low by historical standards were contributing to improving
conditions for new home sales. However, this year, overall economic conditions
in the United States have been, and continue to be, impacted negatively by the
COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in, among other things, quarantines,
"stay-at-home" or "shelter-in-place" orders, and similar mandates from national,
state and local governments that have substantially restricted daily activities
and for many businesses to curtail or cease normal operations. Notwithstanding
these developments, all of the state and local governments in the markets in
which we operate have deemed housing to be an essential business, which has
allowed us to continue with construction and sales of homes. Although most
of the states in which we operate have begun to resume normal business
operations, the United States continues to struggle with rolling outbreaks of
the virus. Accordingly, due to uncertainty surrounding this ongoing public
health crisis and its continued impact on the U.S. economy, we cannot predict
the magnitude of either the near-term or long-term effects that the pandemic
will have on our business.



Earlier this year, in response to the pandemic, we actively took steps to
navigate through this extraordinary period by placing our highest priority on
helping to protect the health and safety of our associates, trade partners and
customers. We implemented appropriate health and safety protocols so that our
community construction and sales activities, wherever authorized, could continue
operations, followed recommended social distancing and other health and safety
protocols when meeting in person with a customer and transitioned our
non-essential office employees to a work from home environment. We also
temporarily closed our sales centers, model homes and design studios to the
general public, and our sales teams shifted to an appointment-only home sales
process, leveraging virtual sales tools to connect with our customers online.
Subsequently, in some of our markets, we have re-opened sales offices where
allowed by local governments, while continuing to follow the health and safety
protocols discussed above. In the field, we continue to implement construction
site health and safety guidelines to ensure both our employees and our trade
partners adhere to social distancing requirements.



During the second quarter of fiscal 2020, when we confronted the initial impact
of COVID-19, we experienced adverse business conditions, including a slowdown in
customer traffic and sales pace and an increase in cancellations. To mitigate
the adverse impacts, the Company implemented initiatives to maximize positive
cash flow, retain a strong liquidity position and optimize our organization,
which included focusing on closing homes in backlog and limiting cash
expenditures, reducing or delaying certain land purchases and land development
activity and beginning work on unsold homes and electing to draw in full the
$125.0 million available under its Secured Credit Agreement (which was repaid in
the third quarter of fiscal 2020). Further, in May 2020, the Company announced
certain operational optimization measures including streamlining the
organizational structure by: (1) transitioning from three homebuilding
operational Groups to two; (2) consolidating several business units, resulting
in the reduction of three Divisional offices; and (3) gradually phasing out of
the Chicago market as it sells through its existing communities. In addition,
the Company took measures to reduce overhead expenses through a combination of
furloughs, layoffs and other cost reduction measures, the implementation of
which will continue through fiscal 2020. We expect these steps to reduce our
annualized overhead expense by approximately $20 million beginning in fiscal
2021. The Company incurred costs of $2.9 million for severance and other related
expenses in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 as a result of this restructuring.





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While the broader economic recovery following the nationwide COVID-19 related
shutdown is ongoing and there continues to be uncertainty surrounding the virus
and various re-opening strategies, the homebuilding industry generally was only
impacted from mid-March through April of 2020. Towards the end of April,
economic conditions in our markets started to improve, and this improvement
continued throughout our fiscal third quarter, due to what we believe is a
combination of factors including low interest rates, low inventory levels of
existing homes and a general desire for more indoor and outdoor space. During
the third quarter of fiscal 2020, we returned to our normal activities with
respect to land purchases, land development and resuming the construction
of unsold homes. As a result, our operating metrics improved significantly, as
described below.



Although many of our key metrics have improved since the end of the second
quarter of fiscal 2020, the full magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic
is unknown. We may experience material declines in our net contracts,
deliveries, revenues, cash flow and/or profitability during the remainder of
fiscal 2020 and beyond, compared to the corresponding prior-year periods, and
compared to our expectations at the beginning of our 2020 fiscal year. In
addition, if conditions in the overall housing market or in a specific market
worsen in the future beyond our current expectations, if future changes in our
business strategy significantly affect any key assumptions used in our
projections of future cash flows, or if there are material changes in any of the
other items we consider in assessing recoverability, we may recognize charges in
future periods for inventory impairments related to our current inventory assets
or other reorganization activities. Any such charges could be material to our
consolidated financial statements.



Operating Results


We experienced overall positive operating results for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 as follows:

? For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, sale of homes revenues increased 29.5% and 27.9%, respectively, as compared to the same periods of the prior year, as a result of a 31.1% and 27.1% increase in deliveries, respectively, primarily due to our increased community count that occurred during fiscal 2019 and our increased sales absorption pace in fiscal 2020.





? Gross margin dollars increased 25.0% and 24.9% for the three and nine months
ended July 31, 2020, respectively, as compared to the same periods of the prior
year, as a result of our increased revenues. We achieved these results despite
gross margin percentage decreasing to 13.6% for the three months ended July 31,
2020 from 14.0% for the three months ended July 31, 2019 and decreasing to 13.7%
for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 from 14.0% for the nine months ended
July 31, 2019. Gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense
and land charges, decreased from 18.4% for the three months ended July 31,
2019 to 17.5% for the three months ended July 31, 2019, and remained flat at
17.7% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020. The decreases were primarily due
to increased incentives offered on started unsold homes during the second
quarter of fiscal 2020 which were delivered in the third quarter of fiscal 2020,
partially offset by increased volume during the periods.



? Selling, general and administrative costs (including corporate general and
administrative expenses) as a percentage of total revenue decreased from 12.1%
and 13.8% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2019, respectively, to
9.5% and 10.6% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively.
Such costs increased $1.4 million and decreased $3.0 million for the three and
nine months ended July 31, 2020 , respectively, as compared to the same periods
of the prior year.


? Net contracts increased 46.9% and 26.0% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively, compared to the same periods of the prior year.





? Net contracts per average active selling community increased to 17.8 for the
three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to 11.0 in the same period of the
prior year, and increased to 38.1 for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to 29.4 in the same period of the prior year. This strong absorption
pace resulted in our active selling communities at July 31, 2020 decreasing by
15.2% over last year's third quarter.



? Contract backlog increased from 2,555 homes at July 31, 2019 to 3,056 homes at July 31, 2020, with a dollar value of $1.2 billion, representing a 17.1% increase in dollar value compared to the prior year.











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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES



As disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October
31, 2019, our most critical accounting policies relate to income recognition
from mortgage loans; inventories; unconsolidated joint ventures; and warranty
and construction defect reserves. Since October 31, 2019, there have been no
significant changes to those critical accounting policies.



CAPITAL RESOURCES AND LIQUIDITY





Our operations consist primarily of residential housing development and sales in
the Northeast (New Jersey and Pennsylvania), the Mid-Atlantic (Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C. and West Virginia), the Midwest (Illinois
and Ohio), the Southeast (Florida, Georgia and South Carolina), the Southwest
(Arizona and Texas) and the West (California). In addition, we provide certain
financial services to our homebuilding customers.



We have historically funded our homebuilding and financial services operations
with cash flows from operating activities, borrowings under our credit
facilities, the issuance of new debt and equity securities and other financing
activities. Due to covenant restrictions in our debt instruments, we are
currently limited in the amount of debt we can incur that does not qualify as
refinancing indebtedness with certain maturity requirements (a limitation that
we expect to continue for the foreseeable future), even if market conditions
would otherwise be favorable, which could also impact our ability to grow our
business.


Operating, Investing and Financing Activities - Overview





Our total liquidity at July 31, 2020 was $334.3 million, including
$198.1 million in homebuilding cash and cash equivalents and $125.0 million of
borrowing capacity under our senior secured revolving credit facility. This
is above our target liquidity range of $170.0 to $245.0 million. The
unprecedented public health and governmental efforts to contain the COVID-19
pandemic have created significant uncertainty as to general economic and housing
market conditions for the remainder of 2020 and beyond. We believe that these
sources of cash together with available borrowings on our senior secured
revolving credit facility will be sufficient through fiscal 2020 to finance our
working capital requirements.



We spent $394.9 million on land and land development during the first three
quarters of fiscal 2020. After considering this land and land development and
all other operating activities, including revenue received from deliveries, we
had $192.8 million in cash provided from operations. During the first three
quarters of fiscal 2020, cash used in investing activities was $18.3 million,
primarily due to an investment in a new unconsolidated joint venture, partially
offset by distributions from existing unconsolidated joint ventures. Cash used
in financing activities was $110.5 million during the first three quarters of
fiscal 2020, which was primarily due to net payments of $55.0 million made on
our mortgage warehouse lines of credit, along with net payments for nonrecourse
mortgage financings and also debt repurchases during the period. We intend to
continue to use nonrecourse mortgage financings, model sale leaseback, joint
ventures, and, subject to covenant restrictions in our debt instruments, land
banking programs as our business needs dictate.



Our cash uses during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019 were for
operating expenses, land purchases, land deposits, land development,
construction spending, state income taxes, interest payments, financing
transaction costs, debt repurchases, litigation matters and investments in
unconsolidated joint ventures. During these periods, we provided for our cash
requirements from available cash on hand, housing and land sales, financing
transactions, model sale leasebacks, land banking transactions, unconsolidated
joint ventures, financial service revenues and other revenues.



Our net income (loss) historically does not approximate cash flow from operating
activities. The difference between net income (loss) and cash flow from
operating activities is primarily caused by changes in inventory levels together
with changes in receivables, prepaid and other assets, mortgage loans held for
sale, interest and other accrued liabilities, deferred income taxes, accounts
payable and other liabilities, and noncash charges relating to depreciation,
stock compensation awards and impairment losses for inventory. When we are
expanding our operations, inventory levels, prepaids and other assets increase
causing cash flow from operating activities to decrease. Certain liabilities
also increase as operations expand and partially offset the negative effect on
cash flow from operations caused by the increase in inventory levels, prepaids
and other assets. Similarly, as our mortgage operations expand, net income from
these operations increases, but for cash flow purposes, net income is partially
offset by the net change in mortgage assets and liabilities. The opposite is
true as our investment in new land purchases and development of new communities
decrease, causing us to generate positive cash flow from operations.



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Debt Transactions



Senior notes and credit facilities balances as of July 31, 2020 and October 31,
2019, were as follows:



                                                              July 31,      October 31,
(In thousands)                                                    2020             2019
Senior Secured Notes:
10.0% Senior Secured Notes due July 15, 2022               $   111,214     $    218,994
10.5% Senior Secured Notes due July 15, 2024                    69,683      

211,391

10.0% Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Notes due November 15, 2025

                                                           158,502      

-

7.75% Senior Secured 1.125 Lien Notes due February 15, 2026

                                                           350,000      

350,000

10.5% Senior Secured 1.25 Lien Notes due February 15, 2026

                                                           282,322      

282,322


11.25% Senior Secured 1.5 Lien Notes due February 15,
2026                                                           162,269          103,141
Total Senior Secured Notes                                 $ 1,133,990     $  1,165,848
Senior Notes:
8.0% Senior Notes due November 1, 2027 (1)                 $         -     $          -
13.5% Senior Notes due February 1, 2026                         90,590      

90,590


5.0% Senior Notes due February 1, 2040                          90,120      

90,120


Total Senior Notes                                         $   180,710

$ 180,710 Senior Unsecured Term Loan Credit Facility due February 1, 2027

$    39,551

$ 202,547 Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Term Loan Credit Facility due January 31, 2028

$    81,498     $          -
Senior Secured Revolving Credit Facility (2)                         -     $          -
Net discounts and premiums                                 $    19,476     $    (49,145 )
Net debt issuance costs                                    $   (23,150 )   $    (19,970 )
Total Senior Notes and Credit Facilities, net of
discount, premium and debt issuance costs                  $ 1,432,075     $  1,479,990




(1) $26.0 million of 8.0% Senior Notes are owned by a wholly-owned consolidated
subsidiary of HEI. Therefore, in accordance with GAAP, such notes are not
reflected on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets of HEI. On November 1,
2019, the maturity of the 8.0% Senior Notes was extended to November 1, 2027.



(2) At July 31, 2020, provides for up to $125.0 million in aggregate amount of senior secured first lien revolving loans. Availability thereunder will terminate on December 28, 2022.





Except for K. Hovnanian, the issuer of the notes and borrower under the Credit
Facilities (as defined below), our home mortgage subsidiaries, certain of our
title insurance subsidiaries, joint ventures and subsidiaries holding interests
in our joint ventures, we and each of our subsidiaries are guarantors of the
Credit Facilities, the senior secured notes (except that certain of the Notes
Guarantors do not guarantee the 10.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2024 as discussed
in Note 12 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere
in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q) and senior notes outstanding at July 31,
2020 (collectively, the "Notes Guarantors").



The credit agreements governing the Credit Facilities and the indentures
governing the senior secured and senior notes (together, the "Debt Instruments")
outstanding at July 31, 2020 do not contain any financial maintenance covenants,
but do contain restrictive covenants that limit, among other things, the ability
of HEI and certain of its subsidiaries, including K. Hovnanian, to incur
additional indebtedness (other than non-recourse indebtedness, certain permitted
indebtedness and refinancing indebtedness), pay dividends and make distributions
on common and preferred stock, repay certain indebtedness prior to its
respective stated maturity, repurchase common and preferred stock, make other
restricted payments (including investments), sell certain assets (including in
certain land banking transactions), incur liens, consolidate, merge, sell or
otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of their assets and enter into
certain transactions with affiliates. The Debt Instruments also contain
customary events of default which would permit the lenders or holders thereof to
exercise remedies with respect to the collateral (as applicable), declare the
loans made under the Unsecured Term Loan Facility (defined below) (the
"Unsecured Term Loans"), loans made under the Secured Term Loan Facility
(defined below) (the "Secured Term Loans") and loans made under the Secured
Credit Agreement (as defined below) (the "Secured Revolving Loans") or notes to
be immediately due and payable if not cured within applicable grace periods,
including the failure to make timely payments on the Unsecured Term Loans,
Secured Term Loans, Secured Revolving Loans or notes or other material
indebtedness, cross default to other material indebtedness, the failure to
comply with agreements and covenants and specified events of bankruptcy and
insolvency, with respect to the Unsecured Term Loans, Secured Term Loans and
Secured Revolving Loans, material inaccuracy of representations and warranties
and with respect to the Unsecured Term Loans, Secured Term Loans and Secured
Revolving Loans, a change of control, and, with respect to the Secured Term
Loans, Secured Revolving Loans and senior secured notes, the failure of the
documents granting security for the obligations under the secured Debt
Instruments to be in full force and effect, and the failure of the liens on any
material portion of the collateral securing the obligations under the secured
Debt Instruments to be valid and perfected. As of July 31, 2020, we believe we
were in compliance with the covenants of the Debt Instruments.



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If our consolidated fixed charge coverage ratio is less than 2.0 to 1.0, as
defined in the applicable Debt Instrument, we are restricted from making certain
payments, including dividends, and from incurring indebtedness other than
certain permitted indebtedness, refinancing indebtedness and nonrecourse
indebtedness. As a result of this ratio restriction, we are currently restricted
from paying dividends (in the case of the payment of dividends on preferred
stock, our secured debt leverage ratio must also be less than 4.0 to 1.0), which
are not cumulative, on our 7.625% Series A Preferred Stock. We anticipate that
we will continue to be restricted from paying dividends for the foreseeable
future. Our inability to pay dividends is in accordance with covenant
restrictions and will not result in a default under our Debt Instruments or
otherwise affect compliance with any of the covenants contained in our Debt
Instruments.



Under the terms of our Debt Instruments, we have the right to make certain
redemptions and prepayments and, depending on market conditions and covenant
restrictions, may do so from time to time. We also continue to actively analyze
and evaluate our capital structure and explore transactions to simplify our
capital structure and to strengthen our balance sheet, including those that
reduce leverage and/or extend maturities, and will seek to do so with the right
opportunity. We may also continue to make debt purchases and/or exchanges for
debt or equity from time to time through tender offers, exchange offers, open
market purchases, private transactions, or otherwise, or seek to raise
additional debt or equity capital, depending on market conditions and covenant
restrictions.



Any liquidity-enhancing or other capital raising or refinancing transaction will
depend on identifying counterparties, negotiation of documentation and
applicable closing conditions and any required approvals. Due to covenant
restrictions in our Debt Instruments, we are currently limited in the amount of
debt we can incur that does not qualify as refinancing indebtedness with certain
maturity requirements as discussed above (a limitation that we expect to
continue for the foreseeable future), even if market conditions would otherwise
be favorable, which could also impact our ability to grow our business.



We have certain stand-alone cash collateralized letter of credit agreements and
facilities under which there was a total of $11.0 million and $19.2 million
letters of credit outstanding at July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019,
respectively. These agreements and facilities require us to maintain specified
amounts of cash as collateral in segregated accounts to support the letters of
credit issued thereunder, which will affect the amount of cash we have available
for other uses. At July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, the amount of cash
collateral in these segregated accounts was $11.2 million and $19.9 million,
respectively, which is reflected in "Restricted cash and cash equivalents" on
the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.



See Note 12 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for a discussion of the Unsecured Term Loans, the Secured Term Loans and Secured Revolving Loans and K. Hovnanian's senior secured notes and senior notes.





Mortgages and Notes Payable



We have nonrecourse mortgage loans for certain communities totaling
$179.8 million and $203.6 million (net of debt issuance costs) at July 31, 2020
and October 31, 2019, respectively, which are secured by the related real
property, including any improvements, with an aggregate book value of
$396.3 million and $410.2 million, respectively. The weighted-average interest
rate on these obligations was 7.0% and 8.3% at July 31, 2020 and October 31,
2019, respectively, and the mortgage loan payments on each community primarily
correspond to home deliveries.



Our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiary, K. Hovnanian American Mortgage,
LLC ("K. Hovnanian Mortgage"), originates mortgage loans primarily from the sale
of our homes. Such mortgage loans and related servicing rights are sold in the
secondary mortgage market within a short period of time. In certain instances,
we retain the servicing rights for a small amount of loans. K. Hovnanian
Mortgage finances the origination of mortgage loans through various master
repurchase agreements, which are recorded in financial services liabilities on
the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. The loans are secured by the
mortgages held for sale and are repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage
loans to permanent investors. As of July 31, 2020 and October 31, 2019, we had
an aggregate of $85.2 million and $140.2 million, respectively, outstanding
under several of K. Hovnanian Mortgage's short-term borrowing facilities.



See Note 11 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a discussion of these agreements.





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Inventory Activities



Total inventory, excluding consolidated inventory not owned, decreased
$83.5 million during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 from October 31,
2019. Total inventory, excluding consolidated inventory not owned, decreased in
the Northeast by $23.9 million, in the Mid-Atlantic by $11.2 million, in the
Midwest by $0.5 million, in the Southeast by $18.4 million, in the Southwest by
$7.4 million and in the West by $22.1 million. The net decrease was primarily
attributable to home deliveries during the period, partially offset by new land
purchases and land development. During the nine months ended July 31, 2020,
we wrote-off costs in the amount of $6.2 million related to land options that
expired or that we terminated, as the communities' forecasted profitability was
not projected to produce adequate returns on investment commensurate with the
risk. In the last few years, we have been able to acquire new land parcels at
prices that we believe will generate reasonable returns under current
homebuilding market conditions. This trend may not continue in either the near
or the long term. Substantially all homes under construction or completed and
included in inventory at July 31, 2020 are expected to be delivered during the
next six to nine months.



Consolidated inventory not owned increased $4.5 million. Consolidated inventory
not owned consists of options related to land banking and model financing
transactions that were added to our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet in
accordance with US GAAP. The increase from October 31, 2019 to July 31, 2020 was
primarily due to an increase in land banking transactions, along with a slight
increase in the sale and leaseback of certain model homes during the period. We
have land banking arrangements, whereby we sell land parcels to the land bankers
and they provide us an option to purchase back finished lots on a predetermined
schedule. Because of our options to repurchase these parcels, for accounting
purposes in accordance with ASC 606-10-55-70, these transactions are considered
a financing rather than a sale. For purposes of our Condensed Consolidated
Balance Sheet, at July 31, 2020, inventory of $139.9 million was recorded to
"Consolidated inventory not owned," with a corresponding amount of $91.9 million
(net of debt issuance costs) recorded to "Liabilities from inventory not owned"
for the amount of net cash received from the transactions. In addition, we sell
and lease back certain of our model homes with the right to participate in the
potential profit when each home is sold to a third party at the end of the
respective lease. As a result of our continued involvement, for accounting
purposes in accordance with ASC 606-10-55-68, these sale and leaseback
transactions are considered a financing rather than a sale. Therefore, for
purposes of our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet, at July 31, 2020,
inventory of $54.9 million was recorded to "Consolidated inventory not owned,"
with a corresponding amount of $53.0 million (net of debt issuance costs)
recorded to "Liabilities from inventory not owned" for the amount of net cash
received from the transactions.



When possible, we option property for development prior to acquisition. By
optioning property, we are only subject to the loss of the cost of the option
and predevelopment costs if we choose not to exercise the option. As a result,
our commitment for major land acquisitions is reduced. The costs associated with
optioned properties are included in "Land and land options held for future
development or sale" on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Also included
in "Land and land options held for future development or sale" are amounts
associated with inventory in mothballed communities. We mothball (or stop
development on) certain communities when we determine the current performance
does not justify further investment at the time. That is, we believe we will
generate higher returns if we decide against spending money to improve land
today and save the raw land until such time as the markets improve or we
determine to sell the property. As of July 31, 2020, we had mothballed land in
12 communities. The book value associated with these communities at July 31,
2020 was $13.1 million, which was net of impairment charges recorded in prior
periods of $120.4 million. We continually review communities to determine if
mothballing is appropriate. During the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, we
did not mothball any additional communities, or sell any previously mothballed
communities, but we re-activated one previously mothballed community and also
re-activated a portion of one previously mothballed community.



Inventories held for sale, which are land parcels where we have decided not to
build homes and are actively marketing the land for sale, are reported at the
lower of carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. At both July 31, 2020
and October 31, 2019, there were no inventories held for sale. In determining
fair value for land held for sale, management considers, among other things,
prices for land in recent comparable sale transactions, market analysis studies,
which include the estimated price a willing buyer would pay for the land (other
than in a forced liquidation sale) and recent bona fide offers received from
outside third parties.



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The following tables summarize home sites included in our total residential real
estate. The decrease in total home sites available at July 31, 2020 compared
to October 31, 2019 is attributable to delivering homes and terminating certain
option agreements, as well as contributing eight previously owned communities,
including four active communities, to a new unconsolidated joint venture in the
first quarter of fiscal 2020, partially offset by signing new land option
agreements and acquiring new land parcels.



                                                                  Active           Proposed
                                               Active           Communities       Developable        Total
                                           Communities(1)          Homes             Homes           Homes
July 31, 2020:

Northeast                                                3               442             2,862         3,304
Mid-Atlantic                                            14             2,038             3,347         5,385
Midwest                                                 10             1,360               794         2,154
Southeast                                               10             1,773             1,197         2,970
Southwest                                               54             4,309             3,320         7,629
West                                                    26             2,185             2,400         4,585

Consolidated total                                     117            12,107            13,920        26,027

Unconsolidated joint ventures (2)                       20             4,888                 -         4,888

Owned                                                                  6,368             3,762        10,130
Optioned                                                               5,460            10,158        15,618

Controlled lots                                                       11,828            13,920        25,748

Construction to permanent financing lots                                 279                 -           279

Consolidated total                                                    12,107            13,920        26,027



(1) Active communities are open for sale communities with ten or more home sites


      available. We identify communities based on product type. Therefore, at
      times there are multiple communities at one land site.




  (2) Represents active communities and home sites for our unconsolidated
      homebuilding joint ventures for the period. We provide this data as a

supplement to our consolidated results as an indicator of the volume managed


      in our unconsolidated joint ventures. See Note 18 to the Condensed
      Consolidated Financial Statements for a further discussion of our
      unconsolidated joint ventures.




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                                                                  Active           Proposed
                                               Active           Communities       Developable        Total
                                           Communities(1)          Homes             Homes           Homes
October 31, 2019:

Northeast                                                6               499             2,798         3,297
Mid-Atlantic                                            25             2,281             3,016         5,297
Midwest                                                 16             1,758             2,140         3,898
Southeast                                               17             2,628             2,065         4,693
Southwest                                               58             4,487             2,701         7,188
West                                                    19             2,465             2,795         5,260

Consolidated total                                     141            14,118            15,515        29,633

Unconsolidated joint ventures (2)                       22             4,226                 -         4,226

Owned                                                                  7,522             3,852        11,374
Optioned                                                               6,341            11,663        18,004

Controlled lots                                                       13,863            15,515        29,378

Construction to permanent financing lots                                 255                 -           255

Consolidated total                                                    14,118            15,515        29,633



(1) Active communities are open for sale communities with ten or more home sites

available. We identify communities based on product type. Therefore, at


      times there are multiple communities at one land site.

  (2) Represents active communities and home sites for our unconsolidated
      homebuilding joint ventures for the period. We provide this data as a

supplement to our consolidated results as an indicator of the volume managed


      in our unconsolidated joint ventures. See Note 18 to the Condensed
      Consolidated Financial Statements for a further discussion of our
      unconsolidated joint ventures.




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The following table summarizes our started or completed unsold homes and models,
excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, in active and substantially completed
communities. The decrease in unsold homes from October 31, 2019 to July 31, 2020
was primarily due to our decision to delay starting unsold homes given the
uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic during the second quarter of fiscal
2020, along with the increased sales pace during the third quarter of fiscal
2020.



                                     July 31, 2020                               October 31, 2019

                          Unsold                                       Unsold
                          Homes          Models         Total          Homes          Models         Total

Northeast                        5              7             12             58             12             70
Mid-Atlantic                    24              9             33             63             12             75
Midwest                         15              9             24             31             10             41
Southeast                       40             17             57             78             15             93
Southwest                      160             17            177            320             12            332
West                            44             18             62            213             19            232

Total                          288             77            365            763             80            843


Started or completed
unsold homes and
models per active
selling communities
(1)                            2.5            0.6            3.1            5.4            0.6            6.0



(1) Active selling communities (which are communities that are open for sale with

ten or more home sites available) were 117 and 141 at July 31, 2020 and

October 31, 2019, respectively. This ratio does not include substantially

completed communities, which are communities with less than ten home sites


    available.





Other Balance Sheet Activities





Homebuilding Restricted cash and cash equivalents decreased $7.5 million from
October 31, 2019 to $13.4 million at July 31, 2020. The decrease was due to a
reduction in cash collateralization of our stand-alone letters of credit during
the period.



Investments in and advances to unconsolidated joint ventures decreased
$1.4 million to $125.7 million at July 31, 2020 compared to October 31, 2019.
The decrease was primarily due to unconsolidated joint venture partner
distributions during the period, partially offset by a new unconsolidated joint
venture entered into in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. As of July 31, 2020
and October 31, 2019, we had investments in 11 and ten unconsolidated
homebuilding joint ventures, respectively, and one unconsolidated land
development joint venture for both periods. We have no guarantees associated
with our unconsolidated joint ventures, other than guarantees limited only to
performance and completion of development, environmental indemnification and
standard warranty and representation against fraud, misrepresentation and
similar actions, including a voluntary bankruptcy.



Receivables, deposits and notes, net decreased $7.6 million from October 31,
2019 to $37.3 million at July 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to the
timing of home closings, along with the receipt of a receivable during the
period related to the funding of the satisfaction and discharge of certain of
our senior secured notes in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.



Prepaid expenses and other assets were as follows as of:





                           July 31,       October 31,       Dollar
(In thousands)               2020            2019           Change

Prepaid insurance          $   3,043     $       2,061     $    982
Prepaid project costs         30,592            32,015       (1,423 )
Other prepaids                 8,298            10,808       (2,510 )
Other assets                     366               820         (454 )
Lease right of use asset      21,200                 -       21,200
Total                      $  63,499     $      45,704     $ 17,795




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Prepaid insurance increased during the three months ended July 31, 2020 due to
the timing of premium payments. These costs are amortized over the life of the
associated insurance policy, which can be one to three years. Prepaid project
costs consist of community specific expenditures that are used over the life of
the community. Such prepaid costs are expensed as homes are delivered. Other
prepaids decreased primarily due to the amortization of deferred financing costs
and costs for certain software and related services during the period. Lease
right of use asset represents the net present value of our operating leases
which, in connection with the Company's adoption of ASU 2016-02 on November 1,
2019, are now required to be recorded as an asset on our Condensed Consolidated
Balance Sheets. See Note 9 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
for further information.



Financial services assets consist primarily of residential mortgages receivable
held for sale of which $96.0 million and $163.0 million at July 31, 2020 and
October 31, 2019, respectively, were being temporarily warehoused and are
awaiting sale in the secondary mortgage market. The decrease in mortgage loans
held for sale from October 31, 2019 was related to a decrease in the volume of
loans originated during the third quarter of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter
of 2019, primarily due to the decrease in deliveries, partially offset by an
increase in the average loan value.



Nonrecourse mortgages secured by inventory decreased to $179.8 million at July
31, 2020 from $203.6 million at October 31, 2019. The decrease was primarily due
to the payment of existing mortgages, partially offset by additional loan
borrowings on existing mortgages, along with new mortgages for communities in
most of our segments obtained during the nine months ended July 31, 2020.



Accounts payable and other liabilities are as follows as of:





                       July 31,       October 31,       Dollar
(In thousands)           2020            2019           Change

Accounts payable       $ 131,654     $     141,667     $ (10,013 )
Reserves                  94,260            92,083         2,177
Lease liability           22,188                 -        22,188
Accrued expenses           9,403            19,208        (9,805 )
Accrued compensation      45,630            53,157        (7,527 )
Other liabilities         17,285            14,078         3,207
Total                  $ 320,420     $     320,193     $     227




The decrease in accounts payable was primarily due to the lower volume of
deliveries in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2019. Reserves increased due to new accruals, partially offset by claim
payments during the period. Lease liability represents the net present value of
our minimum lease obligations, which as discussed above, are required to be
recorded on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as a result of the
Company's adoption of ASU 2016-02 on November 1, 2019. Accrued expenses
decreased primarily due to the timing of property tax payments, along with the
timing of certain accruals for legal fees associated with debt financing
transactions during fiscal 2019. The decrease in accrued compensation was
primarily due to the payment of our fiscal year 2019 bonuses during the first
quarter of fiscal 2020, partially offset by the accrual of fiscal 2020 bonuses
during the nine months ended July 31, 2020. Other liabilities increased
primarily due to deferred payroll tax withholdings, partially offset by the
transfer of a municipal loan from a previously consolidated community to a new
unconsolidated joint venture formed in the first quarter of fiscal 2020



Customers deposits increased $5.1 million to $41.0 million at July 31, 2020. The increase was directly correlated to the increase in backlog during the period.





Financial Services (liabilities) decreased $54.9 million from $169.1 million at
October 31, 2019, to $114.2 million at July 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily
due to a decrease in amounts outstanding under our mortgage warehouse lines of
credit, and directly correlated to the decrease in the volume of mortgage loans
held for sale during the period.



Accrued interest increased $31.2 million to $50.3 million at July 31, 2020. The
increase was primarily due to the timing of new accruals partially offset by
payments during the period, along with slightly higher interest rates on our new
senior secured notes resulting from our financing transactions in fiscal 2020.







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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS FOR THE three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 COMPARED TO THE three and nine months ended July 31, 2019





Total Revenues


Compared to the same prior period, revenues increased as follows:





                                                  Three Months Ended

                                July 31,      July 31,       Dollar        Percentage
(Dollars in thousands)            2020          2019         Change          Change
Homebuilding:
Sale of homes                   $ 605,933     $ 467,849     $ 138,084             29.5 %
Land sales and other revenues         908         1,428          (520 )          (36.4 )%
Financial services                 21,295        12,764         8,531             66.8 %

Total revenues                  $ 628,136     $ 482,041     $ 146,095             30.3 %




                                                    Nine Months Ended

                                 July 31,        July 31,        Dollar        Percentage
(Dollars in thousands)             2020            2019          Change          Change
Homebuilding:
Sale of homes                   $ 1,608,513     $ 1,257,536     $ 350,977             27.9 %
Land sales and other revenues         2,360          11,111        (8,751 )          (78.8 )%
Financial services                   49,670          34,679        14,991             43.2 %

Total revenues                  $ 1,660,543     $ 1,303,326     $ 357,217             27.4 %




Homebuilding



For the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, sale of homes revenues
increased $138.1 million, or 29.5% and $351.0 million, or 27.9%, respectively,
as compared to the same periods of the prior year. These increases were
primarily due to the number of home deliveries increasing 31.1% and 27.1% for
the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively, compared to the
three and nine months ended July 31, 2019. The average price per home decreased
to $390,169 in the three months ended July 31, 2020 from $394,809 in the three
months ended July 31, 2019. The average price per home increased to $390,985 in
the nine months ended July 31, 2020 from $388,488 in the nine months ended July
31, 2019. The minor fluctuations in the average price for the three and nine
months ended July 31, 2020 were a result of the geographic and community mix of
our deliveries. Land sales are ancillary to our homebuilding operations and are
expected to continue in the future but may significantly fluctuate up or
down. For further details on the decrease in land sales and other revenues, see
the section titled "Land Sales and Other Revenues" below.



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Information on homes delivered by segment is set forth below:





                              Three Months Ended July 31,                    Nine Months Ended July 31,
(Dollars in
thousands)                 2020          2019         % Change          2020            2019          % Change

Northeast:
Dollars                 $   41,354     $  20,694           99.8 %    $   133,409     $    46,239          188.5 %
Homes                           95            35          171.4 %            270              80          237.5 %

Mid-Atlantic:
Dollars                 $  111,160     $  86,811           28.0 %    $   288,426     $   220,808           30.6 %
Homes                          213           159           34.0 %            536             412           30.1 %

Midwest:
Dollars                 $   62,901     $  47,261           33.1 %    $   165,836     $   135,020           22.8 %
Homes                          197           158           24.7 %            540             448           20.5 %

Southeast:
Dollars                 $   65,595     $  50,217           30.6 %    $   158,592     $   143,446           10.6 %
Homes                          155           121           28.1 %            379             352            7.7 %

Southwest:
Dollars                 $  214,608     $ 152,615           40.6 %    $   548,796     $   414,112           32.5 %
Homes                          641           449           42.8 %          1,649           1,245           32.4 %

West:
Dollars                 $  110,315     $ 110,251            0.1 %    $   313,454     $   297,911            5.2 %
Homes                          252           263           (4.2 )%           740             700            5.7 %

Consolidated total:
Dollars                 $  605,933     $ 467,849           29.5 %    $ 1,608,513     $ 1,257,536           27.9 %
Homes                        1,553         1,185           31.1 %          4,114           3,237           27.1 %

Unconsolidated joint
ventures (1)
Dollars                 $  132,014     $ 120,423            9.6 %    $   330,559     $   340,226           (2.8 )%
Homes                          228           195           16.9 %            565             542            4.2 %



(1) Represents housing revenues and home deliveries for our unconsolidated homebuilding joint ventures for the period. We provide this data as a supplement to our consolidated results as an indicator of the volume managed in our unconsolidated joint ventures. See Note 18 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a further discussion of our unconsolidated joint ventures.





As discussed above, the overall increase in consolidated housing revenues during
the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 as compared to the same periods of
the prior year was attributed to an increase in deliveries.



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An important indicator of our future results are recently signed contracts and
our home contract backlog for future deliveries. Our sales contracts and homes
in contract backlog by segment are set forth below:



                           Net Contracts (1) for the          Net Contracts (1) for the
                               Three Months Ended                 Nine Months Ended              Contract Backlog as of
                                    July 31,                           July 31,                         July 31,
(Dollars in thousands)       2020               2019             2020      

      2019            2020            2019

Northeast:
Dollars                  $      51,586       $   37,560     $      107,855     $   135,090     $    61,002     $   119,347
Homes                              102               65                231             221             113             192

Mid-Atlantic:
Dollars                  $     152,511       $   99,807     $      374,865     $   299,566     $   269,972     $   242,958
Homes                              307              197                737             547             523             402

Midwest:
Dollars                  $      79,394       $   58,794     $      192,171     $   164,584     $   149,016     $   136,713
Homes                              263              197                624             559             534             505

Southeast:
Dollars                  $      79,846       $   58,648     $      195,512     $   163,880     $   145,947     $   128,571
Homes                              172              147                436             397             304             296

Southwest:
Dollars                  $     260,891       $  202,553     $      626,817     $   510,521     $   308,918     $   277,263
Homes                              814              589              1,924           1,510             938             788

West:
Dollars                  $     258,067       $  131,483     $      488,317     $   309,117     $   299,564     $   149,654
Homes                              568              320              1,083             761             644             372

Consolidated total:
Dollars                  $     882,295       $  588,845     $    1,985,537     $ 1,582,758     $ 1,234,419     $ 1,054,506
Homes                            2,226            1,515              5,035           3,995           3,056           2,555

Unconsolidated joint
ventures:(2)
Dollars                  $     135,869       $  122,925     $      384,910     $   339,776     $   271,222     $   247,578
Homes                              374              272              1,078             635           1,030             488



(1) Net contracts are defined as new contracts executed during the period for the purchase of homes, less cancellations of contracts in the same period.





(2) Represents net contract dollars, net contract homes and contract backlog
dollars and homes for our unconsolidated homebuilding joint ventures for the
period. We provide this data as a supplement to our consolidated results as an
indicator of the volume managed in our unconsolidated joint ventures. See Note
18 to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements for a further discussion
of our unconsolidated joint ventures.



In the first three quarters of fiscal 2020, our open for sale community count
decreased to 117 from 141 at October 31, 2019, which was the net result of
opening 39 new communities, closing 59 communities and contributing four
communities to an unconsolidated joint venture since the beginning of fiscal
2020. Our reported level of sales contracts (net of cancellations)
was positively impacted by an increase in sales pace per community in the first
three quarters of fiscal 2020, as compared to the same period of the prior year.
Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, net contracts per average active
selling community for the three months ended July 31, 2020 increased to
17.8 compared to 11.0 for the same period in the prior year. Net contracts per
average active selling community for the nine months ended July 31,
2020 increased to 38.1 compared to 29.4 for the same period in the prior year.
The increase in net contracts per average active selling community in fiscal
2020 was the primary reason for the decrease in open for sale community count.



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Cancellation rates represent the number of cancelled contracts in the quarter divided by the number of gross sales contracts executed in the quarter. For comparison, the following are historical cancellation rates, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures:





Quarter   2020      2019      2018      2017      2016

First        19 %      24 %      18 %      19 %      20 %
Second       23 %      19 %      17 %      18 %      19 %
Third        18 %      19 %      19 %      19 %      21 %
Fourth                 21 %      23 %      22 %      20 %



Another common and meaningful way to analyze our cancellation trends is to compare the number of contract cancellations as a percentage of the beginning backlog. The following table provides this historical comparison, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures:





Quarter   2020      2019      2018      2017      2016

First        14 %      16 %      12 %      12 %      13 %
Second       20 %      20 %      15 %      16 %      14 %
Third        21 %      16 %      14 %      13 %      12 %
Fourth                 14 %      13 %      12 %      11 %




Most cancellations occur within the legal rescission period, which varies by
state but is generally less than two weeks after the signing of the contract.
Cancellations also occur as a result of a buyer's failure to qualify for a
mortgage, which generally occurs during the first few weeks after signing. As
shown in the tables above, contract cancellations over the past several years
have been within what we believe to be a normal range, although in the second
quarter of fiscal 2020, contract cancellations as a percentage of gross sales
contracts increased, as the number of contract cancellations increased and gross
sales contracts decreased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in the third
quarter of fiscal 2020, contract cancellations as a percentage of gross sales
contracts decreased as gross sales rebounded and were very strong during the
period. In the third quarter of fiscal 2020, contract cancellations as a
percentage of beginning backlog increased further, primarily due to a lower
beginning backlog as a result of lower gross sales contracts in the second
quarter of fiscal 2020. Market conditions and further impacts from COVID-19
remain uncertain, and it is difficult to predict what cancellation rates will be
in the future.



Total cost of sales on our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
includes expenses for consolidated housing and land and lot sales, including
inventory impairment loss and land option write-offs (defined as "land charges"
in the tables below). A breakout of such expenses for housing sales and
homebuilding gross margin is set forth below.



Homebuilding gross margin before cost of sales interest expense and land charges
is a non-GAAP financial measure. This measure should not be considered as an
alternative to homebuilding gross margin determined in accordance with GAAP as
an indicator of operating performance.



Management believes this non-GAAP measure enables investors to better understand
our operating performance. This measure is also useful internally, helping
management evaluate our operating results on a consolidated basis and relative
to other companies in our industry. In particular, the magnitude and volatility
of land charges for the Company, and for other homebuilders, have been
significant and, as such, have made financial analysis of our industry more
difficult. Homebuilding metrics excluding land charges, as well as interest
amortized to cost of sales, and other similar presentations prepared by analysts
and other companies are frequently used to assist investors in understanding and
comparing the operating characteristics of homebuilding activities by
eliminating many of the differences in companies' respective level of
impairments and levels of debt.



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                                             Three Months Ended             Nine Months Ended
                                                  July 31,                      July 31,
(Dollars in thousands)                       2020          2019           2020            2019

Sale of homes                              $ 605,933     $ 467,849     $ 1,608,513     $ 1,257,536

Cost of sales, excluding interest
expense and land charges                     499,654       381,906       

1,323,916 1,034,953



Homebuilding gross margin, before cost
of sales interest expense and land
charges                                      106,279        85,943         

284,597 222,583

Cost of sales interest expense, excluding land sales interest expense 21,794 18,824 58,467 42,964



Homebuilding gross margin, after cost of
sales interest expense, before land
charges                                       84,485        67,119         226,130         179,619

Land charges                                   2,364         1,435           6,202           3,601

Homebuilding gross margin                  $  82,121     $  65,684     $   219,928     $   176,018

Gross margin percentage                         13.6 %        14.0 %          13.7 %          14.0 %

Gross margin percentage, before cost of
sales interest expense and land charges         17.5 %        18.4 %        

17.7 % 17.7 %



Gross margin percentage, after cost of
sales interest expense, before land
charges                                         13.9 %        14.3 %          14.1 %          14.3 %




Cost of sales expenses as a percentage of consolidated home sales revenues are
presented below:



                                              Three Months Ended            Nine Months Ended
                                                   July 31,                      July 31,
                                              2020           2019           2020          2019

Sale of homes                                   100.0 %        100.0 %        100.0 %       100.0 %

Cost of sales, excluding interest
expense and land charges:
Housing, land and development costs              72.8 %         72.2 %         72.6 %        72.3 %
Commissions                                       3.9 %          3.8 %          3.7 %         3.6 %
Financing concessions                             1.5 %          1.3 %          1.4 %         1.3 %
Overheads                                         4.3 %          4.3 %          4.6 %         5.1 %
Total cost of sales, before interest
expense and land charges                         82.5 %         81.6 %         82.3 %        82.3 %
Cost of sales interest                            3.6 %          4.1 %          3.6 %         3.4 %
Land charges                                      0.3 %          0.3 %          0.4 %         0.3 %

Gross margin percentage                          13.6 %         14.0 %         13.7 %        14.0 %
Gross margin percentage, before cost of
sales interest expense and land charges          17.5 %         18.4 %         17.7 %        17.7 %
Gross margin percentage, after cost of
sales interest expense and before land
charges                                          13.9 %         14.3 %         14.1 %        14.3 %




We sell a variety of home types in various communities, each yielding a
different gross margin. As a result, depending on the mix of communities
delivering homes, consolidated gross margin may fluctuate up or down. Total
homebuilding gross margin percentage decreased to 13.6% during the three months
ended July 31, 2020 compared to 14.0% for the same period last year and
decreased to 13.7% during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to 14.0%
for the same period last year. This decrease for the three and nine months ended
July 31, 2020 was primarily attributed to an increase in total cost of sales
interest expense and was also the result of the mix of communities delivering in
each period. Also, contributing to the decrease for the three months ended July
31, 2020 was the impact of additional incentives on spec homes which were
delivered during the fiscal third quarter. The decrease for the nine months
ended July 31, 2020 was also attributed to the impact of additional incentives
on spec homes delivered in the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Gross margin
percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, decreased
from 18.4% for the three months ended July 31, 2019 to 17.5% for the three
months ended July 31, 2020, and remained at 17.7% for both the nine months ended
July 31, 2019 and the nine months ended July 31, 2020. This decrease for the
three months ended July 31, 2020 was primarily attributed to the mix of
communities delivering in each period, as well as the impact of additional
incentives on spec homes which were delivered during the fiscal third quarter.



Due to significantly increased demand in June and July of 2020, we began increasing home prices. We believe that these price increases should offset potential material and labor cost increases related to increased demand and could also result in improved gross margin as a percentage of revenues in future quarters.







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Reflected as inventory impairment loss and land option write-offs in cost of
sales, we wrote-off or wrote-down certain inventories totaling $2.4 million and
$1.4 million during the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively,
and $6.2 million and $3.6 million during the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and
2019, respectively, to their estimated fair value. During the three and nine
months ended July 31, 2020, we wrote-off residential land options and approval
and engineering costs amounting to $2.4 million and $6.2 million, respectively,
compared to $1.3 and $2.5 million, respectively, for the three and nine months
ended July 31, 2019, which are included in the total land charges discussed
above. Option, approval and engineering costs are written-off when a community's
pro forma profitability is not projected to produce adequate returns on the
investment commensurate with the risk and when we believe it is probable, we
will cancel the option, or when a community is redesigned, engineering costs
related to the initial design are written-off. Such write-offs were located in
all of our segments in the first three quarters of fiscal 2020 and 2019. We did
not record any inventory impairments during the three and nine months ended July
31, 2020. We recorded inventory impairments of $0.1 and $1.1 million for the
three and nine months ended July 31, 2019, respectively, which were primarily
related to three communities in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Southwest. It is
difficult to predict impairment levels, and should it become necessary or
desirable to have additional land sales, further lower prices, or should the
estimates or expectations used in determining estimated cash flows or fair value
decrease or differ from current estimates in the future, we may need to
recognize additional impairments.



Land Sales and Other Revenues

Land sales and other revenues consist primarily of land and lot sales. A breakout of land and lot sales is set forth below:





                                               Three Months Ended              Nine Months Ended
                                                    July 31,                       July 31,
(In thousands)                                2020             2019           2020           2019

Land and lot sales                         $       25       $      542     $      100      $   8,050
Cost of sales, excluding interest                  41               33            161          7,390
Land and lot sales gross margin,
excluding interest                                (16 )            509            (61 )          660
Land and lot sales interest expense                20              205             72            205
Land and lot sales gross margin,
including interest                         $      (36 )     $      304     $     (133 )    $     455




Land sales are ancillary to our residential homebuilding operations and are
expected to continue in the future but may significantly fluctuate up or down.
Although we budget land sales, they are often dependent upon receiving approvals
and entitlements, the timing of which can be uncertain. As a result, projecting
the amount and timing of land sales is difficult. Revenue associated with land
sales can vary significantly due to the mix of land parcels sold. There
was one land sale in both the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019. There
were four land sales in the nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to five
land sales in the same period of the prior year, resulting in a decrease of
$8.0 million in land sales revenues.



Land sales and other revenues decreased $0.5 million and $8.8 million for the
three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively, as compared to the same
periods in the prior year. Other revenues include income from contract
cancellations where the deposit has been forfeited due to contract terminations,
interest income, cash discounts and miscellaneous one-time receipts. The slight
decrease for the three months ended July 31, 2020 and the decrease for the nine
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same periods of the prior year was
mainly due to the decrease in land sales discussed above.



Homebuilding Selling, General and Administrative





Homebuilding selling, general and administrative ("SGA") expenses decreased $3.0
million and $8.6 million for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020,
respectively, compared to the same periods last year. The decrease for the three
and nine months ended July 31, 2020 was primarily attributed to lower selling
overhead and advertising costs, as a result of the reduction of our community
count and a reduced need for advertising as home sales have improved. SGA
expenses as a percentage of homebuilding revenues decreased to 6.7% and 7.6% for
the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, respectively, compared to 9.3%
and 10.3% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2019, respectively, as a
result of the reduction in dollars spent and the 29.3% and 27.0% increase in
homebuilding revenue for the same periods, respectively.



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HOMEBUILDING OPERATIONS BY SEGMENT





Segment Analysis



                                                         Three Months Ended July 31,

(Dollars in thousands, except average
sales price)                                 2020          2019         Variance       Variance %

Northeast
Homebuilding revenue                       $  41,370     $  20,696     $   20,674             99.9 %
Income before income taxes                 $   5,240     $     283     $    4,957          1,751.6 %
Homes delivered                                   95            35             60            171.4 %
Average sales price                        $ 435,305     $ 591,257     $

(155,952 ) (26.4 )%

Mid-Atlantic


Homebuilding revenue                       $ 111,402     $  86,948     $   24,454             28.1 %
Income before income taxes                 $  11,024     $   5,111     $    5,913            115.7 %
Homes delivered                                  213           159             54             34.0 %
Average sales price                        $ 521,878     $ 545,981     $  (24,103 )           (4.4 )%

Midwest


Homebuilding revenue                       $  63,003     $  47,858     $   15,145             31.6 %
Income before income taxes                 $     765     $     191     $      574            300.5 %
Homes delivered                                  197           158             39             24.7 %
Average sales price                        $ 319,294     $ 299,120     $   20,174              6.7 %

Southeast


Homebuilding revenue                       $  65,790     $  50,233     $   15,557             31.0 %
Loss before income taxes                   $    (253 )   $  (2,198 )   $    1,945             88.5 %
Homes delivered                                  155           121             34             28.1 %
Average sales price                        $ 423,194     $ 415,017     $    8,177              2.0 %

Southwest


Homebuilding revenue                       $ 214,918     $ 152,831     $   62,087             40.6 %
Income before income taxes                 $  20,072     $   8,598     $   11,474            133.4 %
Homes delivered                                  641           449            192             42.8 %
Average sales price                        $ 334,802     $ 339,900     $   (5,098 )           (1.5 )%

West


Homebuilding revenue                       $ 110,323     $ 110,274     $       49              0.0 %
Income before income taxes                 $     226     $   6,584     $   (6,358 )          (96.6 )%
Homes delivered                                  252           263            (11 )           (4.2 )%
Average sales price                        $ 437,758     $ 419,205     $   18,553              4.4 %




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                                                         Nine Months Ended July 31,

(Dollars in thousands, except average
sales price)                                 2020          2019        Variance       Variance %

Northeast
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 133,444     $  53,696     $  79,748            148.5 %
Income before income taxes                 $  17,703     $   6,287     $  11,416            181.6 %
Homes delivered                                  270            80           190            237.5 %
Average sales price                        $ 494,107     $ 577,988     $ (83,881 )          (14.5 )%

Mid-Atlantic
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 288,899     $ 221,225     $  67,674             30.6 %
Income before income taxes                 $  20,548     $   5,497     $  15,051            273.8 %
Homes delivered                                  536           412           124             30.1 %
Average sales price                        $ 538,108     $ 535,942     $   2,166              0.4 %

Midwest
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 166,120     $ 135,716     $  30,404             22.4 %
Loss before income taxes                   $  (3,063 )   $  (1,252 )   $  (1,811 )         (144.6 )%
Homes delivered                                  540           448            92             20.5 %
Average sales price                        $ 307,104     $ 301,384     $   5,720              1.9 %

Southeast
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 158,933     $ 143,606     $  15,327             10.7 %
Loss before income taxes                   $  (4,514 )   $  (9,259 )   $   4,745             51.2 %
Homes delivered                                  379           352            27              7.7 %
Average sales price                        $ 418,449     $ 407,517     $  10,932              2.7 %

Southwest
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 549,471     $ 414,880     $ 134,591             32.4 %
Income before income taxes                 $  41,744     $  15,270     $  26,474            173.4 %
Homes delivered                                1,649         1,245           404             32.4 %
Average sales price                        $ 332,805     $ 332,620     $     185              0.1 %

West
Homebuilding revenue                       $ 313,547     $ 298,058     $  15,489              5.2 %
Income before income taxes                 $   4,560     $  28,599     $ (24,039 )          (84.1 )%
Homes delivered                                  740           700            40              5.7 %
Average sales price                        $ 423,586     $ 425,587     $  (2,001 )           (0.5 )%




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Homebuilding Results by Segment





Northeast - Homebuilding revenues increased 99.9% for the three months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase for
the three months ended July 31, 2020 was attributed to a 171.4% increase in
homes delivered, partially offset by a 26.4% decrease in average sales price.
The decrease in average sales price was the result of new communities
delivering smaller single family homes, townhomes and affordable-housing homes
in mid to higher-end submarkets of the segment in the three months ended July
31, 2020 compared to some communities delivering in the three months ended July
31, 2019 that had higher priced, single family homes in higher-end submarkets of
the segment that are no longer delivering. Also impacting the decrease in
average sales price was an increase in pricing concessions and a decrease in
location premiums in certain communities.



Income before income taxes increased $5.0 million to $5.2 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2020 as compared to the prior year period, which was
primarily the result of the increase in homebuilding revenues discussed above, a
$3.0 million increase in income from unconsolidated joint ventures and a $0.7
million decrease in selling, general and administrative costs, while gross
margin percentage before interest expense was flat.



Homebuilding revenues increased 148.5% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was attributed to a
237.5% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by a 14.5% decrease in
average sales price and a $7.4 million decrease in land sales and other revenue.
The decrease in average sales price was the result of new communities
delivering smaller single family homes, townhomes and affordable-housing homes
in mid to higher-end submarkets of the segment in the nine months ended July 31,
2020 compared to some communities delivering in the nine months ended July 31,
2019 that had higher priced, single family homes in higher-end submarkets of the
segment that are no longer delivering. Also impacting the decrease in average
sales price was an increase in pricing concessions and a decrease in location
premiums in certain communities.



Income before income taxes increased $11.4 million to $17.7 million for the nine
months ended July 31, 2020 as compared to the prior year period. The increase
was mainly due to the increase in homebuilding revenues discussed above, a
$1.3 million decrease in selling, general and administrative costs, and an
increase in gross margin percentage before interest expense, partially offset by
a $4.5 million decrease in income from unconsolidated joint ventures.



Mid-Atlantic - Homebuilding revenues increased 28.1% for the three months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was
primarily due to a 34.0% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by a 4.4%
decrease in average sales price for the three months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The decrease in average sales
price was the result of new communities delivering lower priced, smaller single
family homes and townhomes in lower-end submarkets of the segment in the three
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to some communities delivering in the three
months ended July 31, 2019 that had higher priced, larger single family homes
and townhomes in higher-end submarkets of the segment that are no longer
delivering.



Income before income taxes increased $5.9 million to $11.0 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year, which
was primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenue discussed above, a
$0.8 million decrease in selling, general and administrative costs and a
slight increase in gross margin percentage before interest expense for the
period compared to the same period of the prior year.



Homebuilding revenues increased 30.6% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily due to
a 30.1% increase in homes delivered, while the average sales price was
essentially flat with a 0.4% increase.



Income before income taxes increased $15.1 million to $20.5 million for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 as compared to the prior year period, which was primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenues discussed above, a $1.9 million decrease in selling, general and administrative costs and a slight increase in gross margin percentage before interest expense.





Midwest - Homebuilding revenues increased 31.6% for the three months ended July
31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was due to
a 24.7% increase in homes delivered and a 6.7% increase in average sale price.
The increase in average sales price was the result of new communities delivering
higher priced, larger single family homes and townhomes in higher-end submarkets
of the segment in the three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to some
communities delivering in the three months ended July 31, 2019 that had lower
priced, smaller single family homes in lower-end submarkets of the segment that
are no longer delivering.



Income before income taxes increased $0.6 million to $0.8 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The
improvement was primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenue discussed
above, partially offset by a slight decrease in gross margin percentage before
interest expense.



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Homebuilding revenues increased 22.4% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily due to
a 20.5% increase in homes delivered, while the average sales price was
essentially flat with a 1.9% increase.



Loss before income taxes increased $1.8 million to a loss of $3.1 million for
the nine months ended July 31, 2020 as compared to the prior year
period, primarily due to the $2.7 million increase in inventory impairment loss
and land option write-offs, partially offset by the increase in homebuilding
revenue discussed above. Gross margin percentage before interest expense was
flat for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the
prior year.



Southeast - Homebuilding revenues increased 31.0% for the three months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was
due to a 28.1% increase in homes delivered and a 2.0% increase in average sales
price. The increase in average sales price was the result of new communities
delivering higher priced, larger single family homes in higher-end submarkets of
the segment in the three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to some communities
delivering in the three months ended July 31, 2019 that had lower priced,
smaller single family homes in lower-end submarkets of the segment that are no
longer delivering.



Loss before income taxes improved $1.9 million to a loss of $0.3 million for the
three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the prior year period, primarily
due to the increase in homebuilding revenue discussed above, a $0.9 million
decrease in selling, general and administrative costs and a slight increase in
gross margin percentage before interest expense.



Homebuilding revenues increased 10.7% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase for the nine months
ended July 31, 2020 was attributed to a 7.7% increase in homes delivered, as
well as a 2.7% increase in average sales price. The increase in average sales
price was the result of new communities delivering higher priced, larger single
family homes in higher-end submarkets of the segment in the nine months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to some communities delivering in the nine months ended
July 31, 2019 that had lower priced, smaller single family homes in lower-end
submarkets of the segment that are no longer delivering.



Loss before income taxes improved $4.7 million to a loss of $4.5 million for the
nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the prior year period, primarily due
to the increase in homebuilding revenues discussed above, a $2.7 million
decrease in selling, general and administrative costs, and a slight increase in
gross margin percentage before interest expense.



Southwest - Homebuilding revenues increased 40.6% for the three months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase in
homebuilding revenues was primarily due to a 42.8% increase in homes delivered,
while average sales price was essentially flat with a 1.5% decrease for the
three months ended July 31, 2020.



Income before income taxes increased $11.5 million to $20.1 million for the
three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior
year. The increase was primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenue
discussed above, a $1.6 million increase in income from unconsolidated joint
ventures and a slight increase in gross margin percentage before interest
expense for the three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of
the prior year.



Homebuilding revenues increased 32.4% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily due to
a 32.4% increase in homes delivered, while average sales price was essentially
flat with a 0.1% increase for the nine months ended July 31, 2020.



Income before income taxes increased $26.5 million to $41.7 million for the nine
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year. The
increase was due to the increase in homebuilding revenues discussed above and an
increase in gross margin percentage before interest expense.



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West - Homebuilding revenues were flat for the three months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. Homebuilding revenues were
impacted by a 4.2% decrease in homes delivered, partially offset by a
4.4% increase in average sales price. The increase in average sales price was
the result of new communities delivering higher priced, larger single
family homes in higher-end submarkets of the segment in the three months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to some communities delivering in the three months ended
July 31, 2019 that had lower priced, smaller single family homes in lower-end
submarkets of the segment that are no longer delivering.



Income before income taxes decreased $6.4 million to $0.2 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2020. The decrease for the three months ended July 31,
2020 was primarily due to a significant decrease in gross margin percentage
before interest expense for the period compared to the same period of the prior
year, partly due to increases in estimated land development costs in some of our
communities in the segment.



Homebuilding revenues increased 5.2% for the nine months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the same period of the prior year. The increase for the nine months
ended July 31, 2020 was primarily attributed to a 5.7% increase in homes
delivered, while the average sales price was essentially flat with a 0.5%
decrease.



Income before income taxes decreased $24.0 million to $4.6 million for the nine
months ended July 31, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a significant
decrease in gross margin percentage before interest expense for the nine months
ended July 31, 2020 compared to the same period of the prior year, partly due to
increases in estimated land development costs in some of our communities in the
segment.



Financial Services



Financial services consist primarily of originating mortgages from our home
buyers, selling such mortgages in the secondary market, and title insurance
activities. We use mandatory investor commitments and forward sales of
mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") to hedge our mortgage-related interest rate
exposure on agency and government loans. These instruments involve, to varying
degrees, elements of credit and interest rate risk. Credit risk associated with
MBS forward commitments and loan sales transactions is managed by limiting our
counterparties to investment banks, federally regulated bank affiliates and
other investors meeting our credit standards. Our risk, in the event of default
by the purchaser, is the difference between the contract price and fair value of
the MBS forward commitments. For the first three quarters of fiscal 2020 and
2019, Federal Housing Administration and Veterans Administration ("FHA/VA")
loans represented 30.2% and 29.4%, respectively, of our total loans. The
origination of FHA/VA loans increased from the first three quarters of fiscal
2019 to the first three quarters of fiscal 2020 and our conforming conventional
loan originations as a percentage of our total loans increased slightly from
66.0% to 68.4% for these periods, respectively. The origination of loans which
exceed conforming conventions decreased from 4.6% for the first three quarters
of fiscal 2019 to 1.4% for the first three quarters of fiscal 2020. Profits and
losses relating to the sale of mortgage loans are recognized when legal control
passes to the buyer of the mortgage and the sales price is collected.



During the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020, financial services
provided a $10.8 million and $20.0 million pretax profit, respectively, compared
to $3.8 million and $8.6 million, respectively, of pretax profit for the same
periods of fiscal 2019. This increase in pretax profit was attributed to the
increase in the homebuilding deliveries and an increase in the average price of
the loans settled. Also impacting the increase for the three and nine months
ended July 31, 2020 was the increase in the basis point spread between the loans
originated and the implied rate from the sale of the loans. In the market areas
served by our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiaries, 68.2% and 69.0% of our
noncash homebuyers obtained mortgages originated by these subsidiaries during
the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and 68.6% and 69.3%
of our noncash homebuyers obtained mortgages originated by these subsidiaries
for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.



Corporate General and Administrative





Corporate general and administrative expenses include the operations at our
headquarters in New Jersey. These expenses include payroll, stock compensation,
facility costs and rent and other costs associated with our executive offices,
legal expenses, information services, human resources, corporate accounting,
training, treasury, process redesign, internal audit, national and digital
marketing, construction services and administration of insurance, quality and
safety. Corporate general and administrative expenses increased to $19.3 million
for the three months ended July 31, 2020 compared to $15.0 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2019. The increase for the three months ended July 31,
2020 compared to 2019 was primarily due to a lower adjustment to reserves for
self-insured medical claims in the current fiscal quarter compared to the prior
fiscal quarter, which were reduced based on claim estimates and higher
compensation expense from a new grant under long-term incentive plans. Corporate
general and administrative expenses increased to $54.3 million for the nine
months ended July 31, 2020 compared to $48.8 million for the nine months ended
July 31, 2019, primarily due to a lower adjustment to reserves for self-insured
medical claims in the current fiscal period compared to the prior fiscal period,
which were reduced based on claim estimates, and additional costs pertaining to
software licenses and support fees for cybersecurity and monitoring services.



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Other Interest



Other interest increased $4.7 million for the three months ended July 31, 2020
compared to the three months ended July 31, 2019 and increased $11.6 million for
the nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the nine months ended July 31,
2019. Our assets that qualify for interest capitalization (inventory under
development) are less than our debt, and therefore the portion of interest not
covered by qualifying assets is directly expensed. Other interest increased for
the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 compared to the three and nine
months ended July 31, 2019 because we incurred more interest from our third
party inventory financing during fiscal 2020, and as a result of the debt
exchange in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2019.



Gain on Extinguishment of Debt





On December 10, 2019, the Company entered into a credit agreement providing for
$81.5 million of senior secured 1.75 lien term loans in exchange for $163.0
million of senior unsecured term loans. On December 10, 2019, the Company also
issued $158.5 million of 10.0% Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Notes due 2025 in
exchange for $23.2 million of 10.0% Senior Secured Notes due 2022 and $141.7
million 10.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2024. These transactions were accounted
for in accordance with ASC 470-60, resulting in a gain on extinguishment of debt
of $9.5 million. Additional costs incurred pertaining to this transaction
resulted in a $0.2 million and less than $0.1 million loss on extinguishment of
debt during the three months ended April 30, 2020 and July 31, 2020,
respectively. During the three months ended July 31, 2020, the Company
repurchased in open market transactions $25.5 million aggregate principal amount
of 10.0% 2022 Notes. The aggregate repurchase price for these repurchases was
$21.4 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest. These repurchases
resulted in a gain on extinguishment of debt of $4.1 million for the three
months ended July 31, 2020, net of the write-off of unamortized financing costs
and fees. The gains from the repurchases are included in the Condensed
Consolidated Statement of Operations as "Gain of extinguishment of debt".



Income from Unconsolidated Joint Ventures





Income from unconsolidated joint ventures consists of our share of the earnings
or losses of our unconsolidated joint ventures. Income from unconsolidated joint
ventures increased $1.9 million to $5.7 million for the three months ended July
31, 2020 and decreased $7.1 million to $13.4 million for the nine months ended
July 31, 2020 compared to the same periods of the prior year. The increase for
the three months period was primarily due to certain of our joint ventures
delivering more homes, resulting in higher profits in the current fiscal third
quarter as compared to the prior fiscal year's third quarter, as well as the
recognition of loss in the prior year fiscal third quarter from writing down the
investment of one of our joint ventures where the full amount of the investment
was deemed to be other than temporarily impaired which did not recur. The
decrease for the nine-month periods was primarily due to the recognition of our
share of income from certain of our joint ventures delivering fewer homes in the
current fiscal period as compared to the prior fiscal period. Also impacting the
decrease was income recorded in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 related to the
return of capital from an unconsolidated joint venture for which we had
previously written-off our investment.



Total Taxes



The total income tax expense for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2020
was $0.9 million and $2.7 million, respectively, and $0.5 million and
$1.2 million, respectively, for the same periods of the prior year. For both the
three and nine months ended July 31, 2020 and the three and nine months ended
July 31, 2019, the total income tax expense was primarily related to state tax
expense from income generated that was not offset by tax benefits in states
where we fully reserve the tax benefit from net operating losses. In addition,
the expense for the nine months ended July 31, 2020 was related to state tax
expense from the impact of a cancellation of debt income recorded for tax
purposes but not for GAAP purposes, creating a permanent difference.



Inflation



Inflation has a long-term effect, because increasing costs of land, materials
and labor result in increasing sale prices of our homes. In general, these price
increases have been commensurate with the general rate of inflation in our
housing markets and have not had a significant adverse effect on the sale of our
homes. A significant risk faced by the housing industry generally is that rising
house construction costs, including land and interest costs, will substantially
outpace increases in the income of potential purchasers and therefore limit our
ability to raise home sale prices, which may result in lower gross margins.



Inflation has a lesser short-term effect, because we generally negotiate
fixed-price contracts with many, but not all, of our subcontractors and material
suppliers for the construction of our homes. These prices usually are applicable
for a specified number of residential buildings or for a time period of between
three to twelve months. Construction costs for residential buildings represent
approximately 52.9% of our homebuilding cost of sales for the nine months ended
July 31, 2020.



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Safe Harbor Statement



All statements in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that are not historical
facts should be considered as "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of
the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the
Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements related to
the Company's goals and expectations with respect to its financial results for
future financial periods. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and
expectations reflected in, or suggested by, such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, we can give no assurance that such plans, intentions or expectations
will be achieved. By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as
of the date they are made, (ii) are not guarantees of future performance or
results and (iii) are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are
difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results could differ
materially and adversely from those forward-looking statements as result of a
variety of factors. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are
not limited to:


? The material and adverse disruption, and the expected continued disruption,

to our business caused by the present outbreak and worldwide spread of

COVID-19 and the measures that international, federal, state and local

governments, agencies, law enforcement and/or health authorities implement to

address it;

? Changes in general and local economic, industry and business conditions and

impacts of a significant homebuilding downturn;

? Adverse weather and other environmental conditions and natural disasters;

? High leverage and restrictions on the Company's operations and activities

imposed by the agreements governing the Company's outstanding indebtedness;


  ?  Availability and terms of financing to the Company;
  ?  The Company's sources of liquidity;
  ?  Changes in credit ratings;
  ?  The seasonality of the Company's business;

? The availability and cost of suitable land and improved lots and sufficient

liquidity to invest in such land and lots;

? Shortages in, and price fluctuations of, raw materials and labor, including

due to changes in trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and

duties on homebuilding materials and products and related trade disputes with

and retaliatory measures taken by other countries;

? Reliance on, and the performance of, subcontractors;

? Regional and local economic factors, including dependency on certain sectors

of the economy, and employment levels affecting home prices and sales

activity in the markets where the Company builds homes;

? Increases in cancellations of agreements of sale;

? Fluctuations in interest rates and the availability of mortgage financing;

? Changes in tax laws affecting the after-tax costs of owning a home;

? Operations through unconsolidated joint ventures with third parties;

? Government regulation, including regulations concerning development of land,

the home building, sales and customer financing processes, tax laws and the

environment;

? Legal claims brought against us and not resolved in our favor, such as

product liability litigation, warranty claims and claims made by mortgage


     investors;
  ?  Levels of competition;
  ?  Successful identification and integration of acquisitions;
  ?  Significant influence of the Company's controlling stockholders;
  ?  Availability of net operating loss carryforwards;
  ?  Utility shortages and outages or rate fluctuations;
  ?  Geopolitical risks, terrorist acts and other acts of war;
  ?  Diseases, pandemics or other severe public health events;

? Loss of key management personnel or failure to attract qualified personnel;


  ?  Information technology failures and data security breaches; and
  ?  Negative publicity.




Certain risks, uncertainties and other factors are described in detail in Part
I, Item 1 "Business" and Part I, Item 1A "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2019 as updated by Part II, Item
1A "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter
ended April 30, 2020. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities
laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future
events, changed circumstances or any other reason after the date of this
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q.



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