Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) 10-K2024 FY Annual report

ITEM 1

Business Overview

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). Through its subsidiaries, HEI designs, constructs, markets, and sells single-family detached homes, attached townhomes and condominiums, urban infill, and active lifestyle homes in planned residential developments and is one of the nation’s largest builders of residential homes. Founded in 1959 by Kevork Hovnanian, HEI was incorporated in New Jersey in 1967 and reincorporated in Delaware in 1983. Since the incorporation of HEI’s predecessor company, the Company combined with its unconsolidated joint ventures have delivered in excess of 375,000 homes, including 6,201 homes in fiscal 2024. The Company has two distinct operations: homebuilding and financial services. Our homebuilding operations consist of three reportable segments: Northeast, Southeast and West. Our financial services operations provide mortgage loans and title services to the customers of our homebuilding operations.

Excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, we are currently offering homes for sale in 130 communities in 27 markets in 13 states throughout the United States. We market and build homes for first-time buyers, move-up buyers, luxury buyers, active lifestyle buyers and empty nesters. We offer a variety of home styles at base prices ranging from $62,000 to $1,910,000 with an average sales price, including options, of $538,000 nationwide in fiscal 2024.

Our operations span all significant aspects of the home-buying process – from design, construction, and sale, to mortgage origination and title services.

The following is a summary of our growth history:

1959 - Founded by Kevork Hovnanian as a New Jersey homebuilder.

1983 - Completed initial public offering.

1986 - Entered the North Carolina market through the investment in New Fortis Homes.

1992 - Entered the greater Washington, D.C. market.

1994 - Entered the Coastal Southern California market.

1998 - Expanded in the greater Washington, D.C. market through the acquisition of P.C. Homes.

1999 - Entered the Dallas, Texas market through our acquisition of Goodman Homes. Further diversified and strengthened our position as New Jersey’s largest homebuilder through the acquisition of Matzel & Mumford.

2001 - Continued expansion in the greater Washington D.C. and North Carolina markets through the acquisition of Washington Homes. This acquisition further strengthened our operations in each of these markets.

2002 - Entered the Central Valley market in Northern California and Inland Empire region of Southern California through the acquisition of Forecast Homes.

2003 - Expanded operations in Texas and entered the Houston market through the acquisition of Parkside Homes and Brighton Homes. Entered the greater Ohio market through our acquisition of Summit Homes and entered the greater metro Phoenix market through our acquisition of Great Western Homes.

2004 - Entered the greater Tampa, Florida market through the acquisition of Windward Homes and started operations in the Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota market.

2005 - Entered the Orlando, Florida market through our acquisition of Cambridge Homes and entered the greater Chicago, Illinois market and expanded our position in Florida and Minnesota through the acquisition of the operations of Town & Country Homes, which occurred concurrently with our entering into a joint venture with affiliates of Blackstone Real Estate Advisors to own and develop Town & Country Homes’ existing residential communities. We also entered the Cleveland, Ohio market through the acquisition of Oster Homes.

2006 - Entered the coastal markets of South Carolina and Georgia through the acquisition of Craftbuilt Homes.

During fiscal 2016, we exited the Minneapolis, Minnesota and Raleigh, North Carolina markets and sold land portfolios in those markets. During fiscal 2018, we completed a wind down of our operations in the San Francisco Bay area in Northern California and in Tampa, Florida. During fiscal 2020, we began a wind down of our operations in the Chicago, Illinois market which was completed in fiscal 2023.

Geographic Breakdown of Markets by Segment

The Company markets and builds homes that are constructed in 17 of the nation’s top 50 housing markets. We segregate our homebuilding operations geographically into the following three segments:

Northeast: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia

Southeast: Florida, Georgia and South Carolina

West: Arizona, California and Texas

For financial information about our segments, see Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Human Capital

As of October 31, 2024, we employed 1,878 full-time associates of whom 1,211 were involved in our homebuilding operations, 171 were involved in our financial services operations and 496 were involved in our corporate operations. We do not have collective bargaining agreements relating to any of our associates.

Successful execution of our strategy is dependent on attracting, developing and retaining key associates and members of our management team. The skills, experience and industry knowledge of our team significantly benefit our operations and performance. We continuously evaluate, modify, and enhance our internal processes and technologies to increase engagement, productivity, efficiency and the skills our associates need to be successful.

We believe that talented associates are the Company’s greatest asset and play a key role in creating long-term value for our stakeholders. As of October 31, 2024, 17.1% of our associates had been with the Company for more than 15 years, and the average tenure of all associates was approximately 7.3 years. We understand that our ultimate success and ability to compete are significantly dependent on how well we identify, hire, train, and retain highly qualified personnel. We realize that each associate has a unique vision and their own special talents. We are committed to being an employer that fosters the growth of each associate, while building an inclusive and diverse workforce.

We believe that our focus on diversity and inclusion across the organization positions the Company to deliver innovation and growth. We have a diverse associate base comprised of 27.3% non-white associates as of October 31, 2024. Additionally, as of October 31, 2024, 43.6% of our associates were women, and women represent 38.5% of all associates in manager and more senior positions.

Promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment is a major priority at Hovnanian. In 2020, the Company formed a Diversity & Inclusion Committee that continues to be an important initiative. The committee is led by the CEO and comprised of members of senior leadership and associates in different functions throughout the organization representing various backgrounds. The objective of the committee is to advise on and evaluate the Company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives and to offer suggestions and guidance. All associates are required to take a diversity and inclusion training course on an annual basis. Those in leadership positions (representing approximately 21.8% of all associates) are required to participate in more extensive diversity and inclusion training sessions.

The Company is also a founding member of the Building Talent Foundation (“BTF”) whose mission is to advance the education, training and careers of people from underrepresented groups in the fields of skilled technical workers and as business owners in the residential construction industry. The Company actively utilizes BTF’s residential construction careers platform JobsToBuild to find new talent. In fiscal 2024, we extended our partnership and financial commitment with BTF for another two years.

Over the last three years, our leadership team has conducted quarterly Town Halls. These events have become a staple in the organization and serve as an opportunity for associates to hear from senior leadership candidly about our Company and directly ask questions of our CEO, CFO, Executive Vice President and Group Presidents. In fiscal 2023, the Company also introduced two new channels for engaging associates companywide, “Lunch & Learns” and “Coffee Chats”. The goal of these new platforms is to fuel our companywide objective to foster a culture of engagement and facilitate more two-way communication.

Through a combination of competitive benefits and educational programs, we believe that we positively contribute to the well-being of our associates and the communities in which they live and work. Our benefits packages include medical, dental, and vision coverage, as well as paid parental leave, health savings accounts, life insurance, disability income, 401(k) savings plan with a company match and other assistance and wellness programs. Together, these benefits help keep our associates and their dependents healthy, while giving them tax-advantaged ways to save for retirement and establish long-term financial security. This package of programs is routinely reevaluated in order to meet the changing needs of our associates in our diverse organization.

In light of the Company’s experience managing the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic and the recognition of the associated environmental benefits, the Company previously introduced a hybrid work schedule and continued its use throughout fiscal 2024, whereby most office associates may work two days a week from home. We believe this change to a hybrid work model promotes a healthier work and home life balance for our associates while simultaneously providing the environmental benefits of having fewer vehicles on the road. In addition to the weekly hybrid schedule, non-field associates can work remotely up to eight weeks a year. 

We also have committed considerable resources to furthering our associates’ personal and professional growth. We have a repository of over 500 training modules/courses to facilitate these learning sessions in both in-person and virtual settings, including mandatory diversity, ethics, workplace harassment prevention, cybersecurity and safety training courses.

Corporate Offices and Available Information

Our corporate offices are located at 90 Matawan Road, Fifth Floor, Matawan, New Jersey 07747 (See Item 2 “Properties”). Our telephone number is 732-747-7800, and our Internet web site address is www.khov.com. Information available on or through our web site is not a part of this Form 10-K. We make available free of charge through our web site our Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(d) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), as soon as reasonably practicable after they are filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Copies of the Company’s Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports are available free of charge upon request. The SEC also maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Business Strategies

As a result of the sharp increase in interest rates that began in fiscal 2022, we have shifted our focus to increasing the availability of quick-move-in homes (“QMI homes”). The rationale behind this shift in focus is that QMI homes provide our customers with more certainty on what their mortgage payments will be at closing. QMI homes also allow us to offer customers mortgage rate buydowns that would be cost prohibitive on homes with a longer time until delivery. QMI homes greatly reduce the complexity of choices for our customers and significantly increase efficiencies for our trades, construction and purchasing teams. Beginning in fiscal 2023, we began executing “Build-For-Rent” agreements to supplement our existing for sale business. The Build-For-Rent sales channel added incremental deliveries during fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024, which allowed us to increase inventory turnover.

We remain focused on maintaining adequate liquidity and identifying investment opportunities that make economic sense in light of our current sales prices and sales paces. Our excess liquidity in fiscal years 2024, 2023 and 2022 allowed us to repurchase $113.5 million, $245.0 million and $100.0 million in aggregate principal of senior secured notes, respectively. Also, in May 2024, we completed a debt exchange resulting in a $75.3 million principal reduction of our senior notes and term loans which included an aggregate cash payment of $31.5 million. We also repurchased 188,800 shares of our Class A common stock with an aggregate market value of $26.5 million in fiscal 2024. In response to changing market conditions, we have been strategic in new land purchases at pricing that we believe will generate appropriate investment returns needed to sustain profitability. After the past several years of concentrating on debt reduction, in fiscal 2024 we shifted our focus back to growth as a focal point. The housing market continues to be driven by positive fundamentals and as a result we increased our lot count, community count and spending on land and land development during the year. In addition, we intend to continue to focus on our historic key business strategies, as enumerated below. We believe that these strategies separate us from our competitors in the residential homebuilding industry and the adoption, implementation and adherence to these principles will continue to benefit our business.

Our goal is to become a significant builder in each of the selected markets in which we operate, which will enable us to achieve economies of scale and differentiate ourselves from most of our competitors.

As noted above, we offer a broad product array to provide housing to a wide range of customers. Our diverse product array includes single-family detached homes, attached townhomes and condominiums, urban infill and active lifestyle homes.

We are committed to customer satisfaction and quality in the homes that we build. We recognize that our future success rests on the ability to deliver quality homes to satisfied customers. We seek to expand our commitment to customer service through a variety of quality initiatives. In addition, we remain focused on attracting and developing quality associates. See “Human Capital” above for further discussion.

We focus on achieving high returns on invested capital. Each new community is evaluated based on its ability to meet or exceed internal rate of return requirements. Our belief is that the best way to create lasting value for our shareholders is through a strong focus on return on invested capital.

We prefer to use a risk-averse land acquisition strategy. We attempt to acquire land with a minimum cash investment and negotiate takedown options, thereby limiting the financial exposure to the amounts invested in property and predevelopment costs. This approach significantly reduces our risk and generally allows us to obtain necessary development approvals before acquisition of the land.

Our strategy also includes homebuilding and land development joint ventures as a means of controlling lot positions, expanding our market opportunities, establishing strategic alliances, reducing our risk profile, leveraging our capital base and enhancing our returns on capital. Our homebuilding joint ventures are generally entered into with third-party investors to develop land and construct homes that are sold directly to home buyers. Our land development joint ventures include those with developers and other homebuilders, as well as financial investors to develop finished lots for sale to the joint venture’s members or other third-parties.

We manage our financial services operations to better serve all of our home buyers. Our current mortgage financing and title service operations enhance our contact with customers and allow us to coordinate the home-buying experience from beginning to end. Further, we are able to employ a range of pricing incentives through our mortgage financing operations, including temporary and permanent mortgage rate buy downs, which are tools that provide buyers with the opportunity to secure mortgage rates below market level.

Operating Policies and Procedures

We attempt to reduce the effect of certain risks inherent in the housing industry through the following policies and procedures:

Training - Our training is designed to provide our associates with the knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits necessary to succeed in their jobs. Our training department regularly conducts in-person, online or webinar training in sales, construction, administration and managerial skills.

Land Acquisition, Planning, and Development - Before entering into a contract to acquire land, we complete extensive comparative studies and analyses which assist us in evaluating the economic feasibility of such land acquisition.

Design - Our residential communities are generally located in urban and suburban areas easily accessible through public and personal transportation. Our communities are designed as neighborhoods that fit existing land characteristics. We strive to create diversity within the overall planned community by offering a mix of homes with differing architecture, textures and colors. Recreational amenities, such as swimming pools, tennis courts, clubhouses, open areas and tot lots, are frequently included.

Construction - We design and supervise the development and building of our communities. Our homes are constructed according to standardized prototypes, which are designed and engineered to provide innovative product design while attempting to minimize costs of construction. We generally employ subcontractors for the installation of site improvements and construction of homes. Agreements with subcontractors are generally short term and provide for a fixed price for labor and materials. We rigorously control costs through the use of computerized monitoring systems. 

Because of the risks involved in speculative building, our general policy is to construct an attached condominium or townhouse building only after signing contracts for the sale of at least 50% of the homes in that building. Historically, a majority of our single-family detached homes were constructed after the signing of a sales contract and mortgage approval was obtained, which limits the buildup of inventory of unsold homes and the costs of maintaining and carrying that inventory. Beginning in fiscal 2022 and continuing through fiscal 2024, we have increased our inventory of QMI homes in connection with our current business strategy discussed above.

Materials and Subcontractors - We attempt to maintain efficient operations by utilizing standardized materials available from a variety of sources. In addition, we generally contract with subcontractors to construct our homes. We have reduced construction and administrative costs by consolidating the number of vendors serving certain markets and by executing national purchasing contracts with select vendors. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we experienced construction delays from shortages in the supply of materials, as well as labor shortages in all of our markets. The impact and the particular materials associated with the delays varied from market to market. We have improved our cycle times since the beginning of fiscal 2023 by approximately 30 days but are still currently experiencing increased construction cycle times of 30-45 days over our pre-pandemic average in many of our markets. We cannot predict the extent to which shortages in necessary materials or labor will re-occur in our markets in the future.

Marketing and Sales - Our homes in residential communities are sold principally through on-site sales offices. In order to respond to our customers’ needs and trends in housing design, we rely upon our internal market research group to analyze information gathered from, among other sources, buyer profiles, exit interviews at model sites, focus groups and demographic databases. We make use of our website, internet, newspaper, radio, television, magazine, billboard, video and direct mail advertising, special and promotional events, illustrated brochures and full-sized and scale model homes in our comprehensive marketing program. We have also started offering curated “Looks” packages for customers to select, rather than a large number of a la carte options. This approach has continued to expand and provides customers with a more streamlined selection process and allows us to be more efficient in purchasing, sales and construction. 

We have a national call center which is responsible for follow up generated by our website and our digital marketing efforts. The call center supports our ability to swiftly respond to incoming customer leads, schedule and conduct virtual tours and video chats, as well as set up in person model home tours.

Customer Service and Quality Control - In many of our markets, associates are responsible for customer service and preclosing quality control inspections as well as responding to post-closing customer needs. Prior to closing, each home is inspected, and any necessary completion work is undertaken by us or our subcontractors. Our homes are enrolled in a standard limited warranty program which, in general, provides a homebuyer with a limited warranty for the home’s materials and workmanship which follows each state’s applicable statute of repose. All of the warranties contain standard exceptions, including, but not limited to, damage caused by the customer.

Customer Financing - We sell our homes to customers who generally finance their purchases through mortgages. Our financial services segment provides our customers with competitive financing and coordinates and expedites the loan origination transaction through the steps of loan application, loan approval, and closing and title services. We originate loans in each of the states in which we build homes. We believe that our ability to offer financing to customers on competitive terms as a part of the sales process is an important factor in completing sales.

During the year ended October 31, 2024, for the markets in which our mortgage subsidiaries originated loans, 25.1% of our home buyers paid in cash and 79.4% of our noncash home buyers obtained mortgages from our mortgage banking subsidiary. The loans we originated in fiscal 2024 were 64.0% conforming conventional loans and 35.4% Federal Housing Administration/Veterans Affairs (“FHA/VA”). The remaining 0.6% of our loan originations represented loans which exceeded conforming conventions.

We sell virtually all of the loans and loan-servicing rights that we originate within a short period of time. Loans are sold either individually or against forward commitments to institutional investors, including banks, mortgage banking firms, and savings and loan associations.

Residential Development Activities

Our residential development activities include site planning and engineering, obtaining environmental and other regulatory approvals and constructing roads, sewer, water, and drainage facilities, recreational facilities, and other amenities and marketing and selling homes. These activities are performed by our associates, together with independent architects, consultants and contractors. Our associates also carry out long-term planning of communities. A residential development generally includes single-family detached homes and/or a number of residential buildings containing from two to 24 individual homes per building, together with recreational amenities, such as swimming pools, tennis courts, clubhouses, open areas and tot lots. 

Information on housing revenues, homes delivered and average sales price by segment for the year ended October 31, 2024, is set forth below:

(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 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our unconsolidated joint ventures.

Net Sales Contracts

The dollar value of our net sales contracts, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, was $2.8 billion and $2.5 billion for the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and the number of homes contracted increased 11.6% to 5,186 in fiscal 2024 from 4,647 in fiscal 2023.

 Information on the dollar value of net sales contracts by segment for the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, is set forth below:

(1) Represents net contract dollars 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 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our unconsolidated joint ventures.

We ended fiscal 2024 with 130 active selling communities as compared to 113 active selling communities at October 31, 2023. The average number of active selling communities increased to 119 for fiscal 2024 from 114 for fiscal 2023. 

Information on our active selling communities by segment as of October 31, 2024, is set forth below. Contracted not delivered and remaining homes available in our active selling communities are included in the consolidated total homesites under the total residential real estate chart in Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” 

Backlog

At October 31, 2024 and 2023, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, we had a backlog of signed contracts for 2,052 homes and 2,196 homes, respectively, representing a 6.6% decrease, with sales values aggregating $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion, respectively. Our focus on QMI homes continues to result in higher backlog conversion. Additionally at October 31, 2024 and 2023, we had a backlog of signed contracts for 276 homes and 50 homes, respectively, from our unconsolidated joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The majority of our backlog at October 31, 2024 is expected to be completed and closed within the next six to nine months. 

Current base prices for our homes in contract backlog at October 31, 2024, range from $62,000 to $1,910,000 in the Northeast, from $276,000 to $1,177,000 in the Southeast and from $250,000 to $880,000 in the West.

At November 30, 2024 and 2023, our backlog of signed contracts, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, was 2,111 homes and 2,158 homes, respectively, with sales values aggregating $1.3 billion for both periods. Additionally at November 30, 2024 and 2023, we had a backlog of signed contracts for 20 homes for both periods, from our unconsolidated joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. For information on our backlog excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, see the contract table in Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Homebuilding: Key Performance Indicators.”

Sales of our homes typically are made pursuant to a standard sales contract that provides the customer with a statutorily mandated right of rescission for a period ranging up to 15 days after execution. Sales contracts require a nominal customer deposit at the time of signing. In addition, in some Northeast locations, we typically obtain an additional 5% to 10% down payment due within 30 to 60 days after signing. In most markets, an additional deposit is required when a customer selects and commits to optional upgrades in the home. The contract may include a financing contingency, which permits customers to cancel their obligation in the event mortgage financing at prevailing interest rates (including financing arranged or provided by us) is unobtainable within the period specified in the contract. This contingency period typically is four to eight weeks following the date of execution of the contract. When mortgage rates increase or housing values decline in certain markets, some customers cancel their contracts and forfeit their deposits. Sales contracts are included in backlog once the sales contract is signed by the customer, which in some cases includes contracts that are in the rescission or cancellation periods. However, revenues from sales of homes are recognized in the Consolidated Statements of Operations, when control is transferred to the buyer, which occurs when the buyer takes title to and possession of the home and there is no continuing involvement. For further information on cancellation rates, see the contract cancellation rates table in Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Homebuilding: Key Performance Indicators.”

Residential Land Inventory in Planning

It is our objective to control a supply of land, primarily through options, whenever possible, consistent with anticipated homebuilding requirements in each of our housing markets. Controlled land (land owned and under option) as of October 31, 2024, exclusive of active selling communities and excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, is summarized in the following table. The proposed developable home sites in communities in planning are included in the 41,895 consolidated total home sites under the total residential real estate table in Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

Communities in Planning

We either option or acquire improved or unimproved home sites from land developers or other sellers. Under a typical agreement with the land developer, we purchase a minimal number of home sites. The balance of the home sites to be purchased is covered under an option agreement or a nonrecourse purchase agreement. During a declining homebuilding market, we typically decide to “mothball” (or stop development on) certain communities where we have determined that current market conditions do not justify further investment at that time. When we decide to mothball a community, the inventory is reclassified on our Consolidated Balance Sheets from “Sold and unsold homes and lots under development” to “Land and land options held for future development or sale”.

Raw Materials

The homebuilding industry has from time-to-time experienced raw material and labor shortages. In particular, shortages and fluctuations in the price of lumber or other important raw materials has resulted in the past, and could result in the future, in start or completion delays or increases to the cost of developing one or more of our residential communities. We attempt to maintain efficient operations by utilizing standardized materials available from a variety of sources. In addition, we generally contract with subcontractors to construct our homes. We have reduced construction and administrative costs by consolidating the number of vendors serving certain markets and by executing national purchasing contracts with select vendors. Labor and material shortages that were initially due to the COVID-19 pandemic have improved. For example, we previously experienced a significant rise in lumber prices caused by supply chain issues, but due to increased availability prices began to decrease during the second half of fiscal 2022 and into fiscal 2024. We cannot predict, however, the extent to which shortages in necessary raw materials or labor may occur in the future.

Seasonality

Our business is seasonal in nature and, historically, weather-related problems, typically in the fall, late winter and early spring, can delay starts or closings and increase costs.

Our homebuilding operations are highly competitive. We are among the top 20 homebuilders in the United States in both homebuilding revenues and home deliveries. We compete with numerous real estate developers in each of the geographic areas in which we operate. Our competition ranges from small local builders to larger private regional builders to publicly owned builders and developers, some of which have greater sales and financial resources than we do. Previously owned homes and the availability of rental housing provide additional competition. We compete primarily on the basis of reputation, price, location, design, quality, service and amenities.

Regulation and Environmental Matters

We are subject to extensive and complex laws and regulations that affect the development of land and home building, sales and customer financing processes concerning zoning, building design, construction, and similar matters, including local regulations which impose restrictive zoning and density requirements in order to limit the number of homes that can eventually be built within the boundaries of a particular locality. In addition, we are subject to registration and filing requirements in connection with the construction, advertisement and sale of our communities in certain states and localities in which we operate even if all necessary government approvals have been obtained. We may also be subject to periodic delays or may be precluded entirely from developing communities due to building moratoriums that could be implemented in the future in the states in which we operate. Generally, such moratoriums relate to insufficient water or sewerage facilities or inadequate road capacity.

In addition, some state and local governments in markets where we operate have approved, and others may approve, slow-growth, or no-growth initiatives that could negatively affect the availability of land and building opportunities within those areas. Approval of these initiatives could adversely affect our ability to build and sell homes in the affected markets and/or could require the satisfaction of additional administrative and regulatory requirements, which could result in slowing the progress or increasing the costs of our homebuilding operations in these markets. Any such delays or costs could have a negative effect on our future revenues and earnings.

We are also subject to a variety of local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations concerning protection of health and the environment, including those regulating the emission or discharge of materials into the environment, the management of storm water runoff at construction sites, the handling, use, storage and disposal of hazardous substances, impacts to wetlands and other sensitive environments, and the remediation of contamination at properties that we have owned or developed or currently own or are developing (“environmental laws”). The particular environmental laws which apply to any given community vary greatly according to the community site, the site’s environmental conditions and the present and former uses of the site. See Risk Factors – “Homebuilders are subject to a number of federal, local, state, and foreign laws and regulations concerning the development of land and homebuilding, sales and customer financing processes and the protection of the environment, which can cause us to incur delays and costs associated with compliance and which can prohibit or restrict our activity in some regions or areas”, Item 3 “Legal Proceedings” and Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Despite our past ability to obtain necessary permits and approvals for our communities, we anticipate that increasingly stringent requirements will be imposed on developers and homebuilders in the future. Although we cannot reliably predict the extent of any effect these requirements may have on us, they could result in time-consuming and expensive compliance programs and in substantial expenditures, which could cause delays and increase our cost of operations. In addition, our ability to obtain or renew permits or approvals and the continued effectiveness of permits already granted or approvals already obtained is dependent upon many factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as changes in policies, rules and regulations and their interpretation and application.

Significant expenses of owning a home, including mortgage interest expenses and real estate taxes, have historically been deductible expenses for an individual’s federal, and in some cases state, income taxes, subject to limitations under tax law and policy. The “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” (“TCJA”) which was signed into law in December 2017 included provisions which impose significant limitations with respect to these income tax deductions. For instance, through the end of 2025, the annual deduction for real estate taxes and state and local income taxes (or sales taxes in lieu of income taxes) is now generally limited to $10,000. Furthermore, through the end of 2025, the deduction for mortgage interest is generally only available with respect to the first $750,000 of a new mortgage and there is no longer a federal deduction for interest on home equity loans. It is unclear whether the provisions of the TCJA described above will be allowed to expire at the end of 2025, which would cause a reversion to the provisions in effect prior to the TCJA, or whether some or all of such provisions will be extended beyond 2025 by future legislation. In addition, if the federal government or a state government further changes its income tax laws to further eliminate or substantially limit these income tax deductions, the after-tax cost of owning a new home would further increase for many of our potential customers. The loss or reduction of these homeowner tax deductions that have historically been available has and could further reduce the perceived affordability of homeownership, and therefore the demand for and sales price of new homes, including ours, particularly in states with higher state income taxes or home prices, such as in California and New Jersey. In addition, increases in property tax rates or fees on developers by local governmental authorities, as experienced in response to reduced federal and state funding or to fund local initiatives, such as funding schools or road improvements, or increases in insurance premiums can adversely affect the ability of potential customers to obtain financing or their desire to purchase new homes, and can have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.

Further, existing and prospective regulatory and societal focus on and responses to climate change intended to reduce potential climate change impacts may increase the upfront costs of purchasing a home, costs to maintain the home and its systems, energy and utility costs and the cost to obtain homeowner and various hazard and flood insurance, or limit homeowners’ ability to obtain these insurance policies altogether. Although these items have not materially impacted our business to date, they could adversely affect our business in the future.

Mortgage investors could seek to have us buy back loans or compensate them for losses incurred on mortgages we have sold based on claims that we breached our limited representations or warranties.

Our financial services segment originates mortgages, primarily for our homebuilding customers. Substantially all of the mortgage loans originated are sold within a short period of time in the secondary mortgage market on a servicing released, nonrecourse basis, although we remain liable for certain limited representations, such as fraud, and warranties related to loan sales. Accordingly, mortgage investors have in the past and could in the future seek to have us buy back loans or compensate them for losses incurred on mortgages we have sold based on claims that we breached our limited representations or warranties. While we believe our reserves are adequate for known losses and projected repurchase requests, given the volatility in the mortgage industry and the uncertainty regarding the ultimate resolution of these claims, if either actual repurchases or the losses incurred resolving those repurchases exceed our expectations, additional expense may be incurred. We may have significant liabilities in respect of such claims in the future, which could exceed our reserves, and the impact of such claims on our results of operations could be material. Further, an increase in the default rate on the mortgages we originate may adversely affect our ability to sell mortgages or the pricing we receive upon the sale of mortgages.

We compete on several levels with homebuilders that may have greater sales and financial resources, which could hurt future earnings.

We compete not only for home buyers but also for desirable properties, financing, raw materials and skilled labor often within larger subdivisions designed, planned and developed by other homebuilders. Our competitors include other local, regional and national homebuilders, some of which have greater sales and financial resources or more established relationships with suppliers and subcontractors in the markets in which we operate. In addition, we compete with other housing alternatives, such as existing homes and rental housing. In the homebuilding industry, we compete primarily on the basis of reputation, price, location, design, quality, service and amenities. Our financial services segment competes with other mortgage providers, primarily on the basis of fees, interest rates and other features of mortgage loan products.

In addition, the homebuilding industry has been subject to increasing consolidation, which could result in existing competitors increasing their market share, create new competitors through business combinations and/or result in stronger competitors. We may be unable to compete successfully in an increasingly consolidated industry and cannot predict how industry consolidation will affect us.

The competitive conditions in the homebuilding industry together with current market conditions have caused, and could continue to result in, difficulty in acquiring suitable land at acceptable prices; increased selling incentives; lower sales; delays in construction; or impairment of our ability to implement our strategies and operational actions. Any of these challenges could increase costs and/or lower profit margins.

Utility shortages and outages or rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our operations.

In prior years, the areas in which we operate in California have experienced power shortages, including periods without electrical power, as well as significant fluctuations in utility costs. We may incur additional costs and may not be able to complete construction on a timely basis if such power shortages and outages and utility rate fluctuations continue. Furthermore, power shortages and outages and rate fluctuations may adversely affect the regional economies in which we operate, which may reduce demand for our homes. Our operations may be adversely affected if further rate fluctuations and/or power shortages and outages occur in California, or in our other markets.

Information technology failures and data security breaches could harm our business.

We use information technology (“IT”), digital telecommunications and other computer resources to conduct important operational activities and to maintain our business records. In addition, we rely on the systems of third parties, such as third-party vendors. Our computer systems, including our backup systems, and those of the third parties on whose systems we rely, are subject to damage or interruption from computer and telecommunications failures, computer viruses, power outages, security breaches (including through phishing attempts, data-theft and cyber-attack), ransomware attacks, usage errors by our associates or other business partners or outside service providers, and catastrophic events, such as fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. Cyber-attacks and other security threats could originate from a wide variety of external sources, including cyber-criminals, nation-state hackers, hacktivists and other outside parties. Cyber-attacks and other security threats could also originate from the malicious or accidental acts of insiders, such as employees, and other business partners and outside service providers. 

As part of our normal business activities, we collect and store certain personal identifying and confidential information relating to our homebuyers, employees, vendors and suppliers, and maintain operational and financial information related to our business. We may share some of this confidential information with our vendors. We rely on our vendors and third-party service providers to maintain effective cybersecurity measures to keep our information secure. If our computer systems and our backup systems, or those of the third parties on whose systems we rely, are breached, compromised or damaged, or otherwise cease to function properly, we could suffer interruptions in our operations or the misappropriation of proprietary, personal identifying or confidential information, including information about our business partners and home buyers. Our or our vendors’ and third-party service providers’ failure to maintain the security of the data we are required to protect could result in damage to our reputation, financial obligations to third parties, fines, penalties, regulatory proceedings and private litigation with potentially large costs, and also in deterioration in customers’ confidence in us and other competitive disadvantages. 

Data protection and privacy laws have been enacted by the U.S. federal and state governments, including the California Privacy Rights Act and the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and the regulatory regime continues to evolve and is increasingly demanding. Many states have passed or are considering privacy and security legislation and there are ongoing discussions regarding a federal privacy law. Variations in requirements across other states could present compliance challenges, as well as increased costs related to compliance.

Privacy, security, and compliance concerns have continued to increase as technology has evolved. We maintain cybersecurity insurance coverage, which may not fully cover the costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions, and have implemented systems and processes intended to secure our IT systems and prevent unauthorized access to or loss of sensitive, confidential and personal data, including through the use of encryption and authentication technologies as well as prevent the diversion or theft of company funds through various forms of social engineering. Additionally, we have increased our monitoring capabilities to enhance early detection and rapid response to potential security anomalies. These measures, which require ongoing monitoring and updating as technologies change and efforts to overcome security measures are continually evolving and have become increasingly sophisticated, are costly and may not be effective in preventing or mitigating significant negative occurrences or irregularities in our systems or those of third parties on whose systems we rely. In addition, cyber-attacks or other security breaches may persist undetected over extended periods of time and may not be mitigated in a timely manner to minimize the impact of a cyber-attack or other security breach. While, to date, we have not had a significant cybersecurity breach or attack that has a material impact on our business or results of operations, our efforts to maintain the security and integrity of our IT networks and related systems may not be effective and attempted security breaches or disruptions could be successful or damaging.

Negative publicity could adversely affect our reputation and our business, financial results and stock price.

Our reputation and brand are critical to our success. Unfavorable media related to our industry, company, brand, personnel, operations, business performance, or prospects may impact our stock price and the performance of our business, regardless of its accuracy or inaccuracy. The speed at which negative publicity is disseminated has increased dramatically through the use of electronic communication, including social media outlets, websites, “tweets,” and blogs. Our success in maintaining and expanding our brand image depends on our ability to adapt to this rapidly changing media environment. Adverse publicity or negative commentary from any media outlets could damage our reputation and reduce the demand for our homes, which would adversely affect our business.

Global economic and political instability and conflicts could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business could be adversely affected by unstable economic and political conditions within the United States, instability in foreign jurisdictions and geopolitical conflicts. While we do not have any customer or direct supplier relationships in any of the foreign countries or regions involved in the current military conflicts, any related sanctions, export controls or actions that may be initiated by nations (e.g., potential cyberattacks, disruption of energy flows, etc.) and other potential uncertainties could adversely affect our supply chain by causing shortages or increases in costs for materials necessary to construct homes and/or increases to the price of gasoline and other fuels. In addition, a new public health crisis such as a major epidemic or pandemic, such as COVID-19, could cause multiple disruptions in our supply chain and result in shortages in certain building materials and tightness in the labor market, which could cause our construction cycle times to lengthen. Such events could cause higher interest rates, inflation or general economic uncertainty, which could negatively impact our business partners, employees or customers, or otherwise adversely impact our business.

Risks Related to Our Debt and Liquidity

Our high leverage may restrict our ability to operate, prevent us from fulfilling our obligations, and adversely affect our financial condition.

We have a significant amount of debt.

As of October 31, 2024, we had an aggregate of $2.6 million outstanding under various letters of credit and other credit facilities and agreements, certain of which were collateralized by $3.2 million of cash. Our fees for these letters of credit for the year ended October 31, 2024, which are based on both the used and unused portion of the facilities and agreements, were $0.1 million. We also had substantial contractual commitments and contingent obligations, including $225.7 million of performance bonds as of October 31, 2024. See Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Contractual Obligations.”

Our significant amount of debt could have important consequences. For example, it could:

Our ability to meet our debt service and other obligations will depend upon our future performance. We are engaged in businesses that are substantially affected by changes in economic cycles. Our revenues and earnings vary with the level of general economic activity in the markets we serve. Our businesses are also affected by customer sentiment and financial, political, business and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. The factors that affect our ability to generate cash can also affect our ability to raise additional funds for these purposes through the sale of equity or debt securities, the refinancing of debt or the sale of assets. Changes in prevailing interest rates may affect our ability to meet our debt service obligations to the extent we have any floating rate indebtedness. A higher interest rate on our debt service obligations could result in lower earnings or increased losses.

Our sources of liquidity are limited and may not be sufficient to meet our needs.

We are largely dependent on our current cash balance and future cash flows from operations (which may not be positive) to enable us to service our indebtedness, to cover our operating expenses and/or to fund our other liquidity needs. Cash provided by operating activities in fiscal 2024 and 2023 was $23.6 million and $435.3 million, respectively. Depending on the levels of our land purchases, we could generate positive or negative cash flow in future years. If there is a sustained decline in market conditions in the homebuilding industry over the next several years, our cash flows could be insufficient to fund our obligations and support land purchases, and if we cannot buy additional land, we would ultimately be unable to generate future revenues from the sale of houses. If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations or we are unable to refinance our indebtedness, we may be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures, sell assets, seek additional capital or restructure our indebtedness. These alternative measures may not be successful or, if successful, made on desirable terms and may not permit us to meet our debt service obligations. We have also entered into certain cash collateralized letters of credit agreements and facilities that require us to maintain specified amounts of cash in segregated accounts as collateral to support our letters of credit issued thereunder. If our available cash and capital resources are insufficient to meet our debt service and other obligations, we could face liquidity problems and might be required to dispose of material assets or operations to meet our debt service and other obligations. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or the proceeds from the dispositions may not be permitted under the terms of our debt instruments to be used to service indebtedness or may not be adequate to meet any debt service obligations then due. For additional information about capital resources and liquidity, see Item 7 “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Capital Resources and Liquidity.”

Our cash flows, liquidity and consolidated financial statements could be materially and adversely affected if we are unable to obtain letters of credit.

Our homebuilding operations often require us to obtain letters of credit. We have certain stand-alone letter of credit facilities and agreements pursuant to which letters of credit are issued. However, letters of credit may not be issued under our senior secured revolving credit facility, and we may need additional letters of credit above the amounts provided under these stand-alone facilities and agreements. If we are unable to obtain such additional letters of credit as needed to operate our business, we would be adversely affected.

We may have difficulty in obtaining the additional financing required to operate and develop our business.

Our operations require significant amounts of cash, and we may be required to seek additional capital, whether from sales of debt or equity securities or borrowing additional money, for the future growth and development of our business. The terms and/or availability of additional capital is uncertain. Moreover, the agreements governing our outstanding debt instruments contain provisions that restrict the debt we may incur in the future and our ability to pay dividends on equity. If we are not successful in obtaining sufficient capital, it could reduce our sales and may hinder our future growth and results of operations. In addition, pledging substantially all of our assets to support our senior secured revolving credit facility and our senior secured notes may make it more difficult to raise additional financing in the future.

We could be adversely affected by a negative change in our credit rating.

Our ability to access capital on favorable terms is a key factor in our ability to service our indebtedness to cover our operating expenses and to fund our other liquidity needs. Negative rating actions by credit agencies, including downgrades, may make it more difficult and costly for us to access capital. Therefore, any downgrade by any of the principal credit agencies may exacerbate these difficulties. There can be no assurances that our credit ratings will not be downgraded in the future, whether as a result of deteriorating general economic conditions, a protracted downturn in the housing industry, failure to successfully implement our operating strategy, the adverse impact on our results of operations or liquidity position of any of the above, or otherwise.

Restrictive covenants in our debt instruments may restrict our and certain of our subsidiaries’ ability to operate, and if our financial performance worsens, we may not be able to undertake transactions within the restrictions of our debt instruments.

The indentures governing our outstanding debt securities and the agreements governing our credit facilities impose certain restrictions on our and certain of our subsidiaries’ operations and activities. The most significant restrictions relate to debt incurrence, creation of liens, repayment of certain indebtedness prior to its respective stated maturity, sales of assets (including in certain land banking transactions), cash distributions, (including paying dividends on common and preferred stock), capital stock repurchases, and investments by us and certain of our subsidiaries (including in joint ventures). Because of these restrictions, we could be prohibited from paying dividends.

The restrictions in our debt instruments could prohibit or restrict our and certain of our subsidiaries’ activities, such as undertaking capital raising or restructuring activities or entering into other transactions. In addition, if we fail to comply with these restrictions or to make timely payments on this debt and other material indebtedness, an event of default could occur and our debt under these debt instruments could become due and payable prior to maturity. Any such event of default could lead to cross defaults under certain of our other debt instruments or negatively impact other debt-related covenants. In any of these situations, we may be unable to amend the applicable debt instrument or obtain a waiver without significant additional cost, or at all, and we may be unable to obtain alternative financing. Any such situation could have a material adverse effect on the solvency of the Company.

The terms of our debt instruments allow us to incur additional indebtedness.

Under the terms of our indebtedness under our indentures and credit facilities, we have the ability, subject to our debt covenants, to incur additional amounts of debt, including secured debt. The incurrence of additional indebtedness could magnify the risks described above. In addition, certain obligations, such as standby letters of credit and performance bonds issued in the ordinary course of business, including those issued under our stand-alone letter of credit agreements and facilities, are not considered indebtedness under our debt instruments (and may be secured) and, therefore, are not subject to limits in our debt covenants.

Regulatory and Legal Risks

Homebuilders are subject to a number of federal, local, state, and foreign laws and regulations concerning the development of land and homebuilding, sales and customer financing processes and the protection of the environment, which can cause us to incur delays and costs associated with compliance and which can prohibit or restrict our activity in some regions or areas.

We are subject to extensive and complex laws and regulations that affect the development of land and homebuilding, sales and customer financing processes, including laws and regulations relating to zoning, density, accessibility, anti-discrimination, building standards and mortgage financing. These laws and regulations often provide broad discretion to the administering governmental authorities. This can delay or increase the cost of development or homebuilding. In addition, some state and local governments in markets where we operate have approved, and others may approve, slow-growth or no-growth initiatives that could negatively impact the availability of land and building opportunities within those areas. Approval of these initiatives could adversely affect our ability to build and sell homes in the affected markets and/or could require the satisfaction of additional administrative and regulatory requirements, which could result in slowing the progress or increasing the costs of our homebuilding operations in these markets. Any of the above delays or costs could have a negative effect on our future revenues and earnings.

 We also are subject to a variety of local, state, federal and foreign laws and regulations concerning protection of health and the environment, including those regulating the emission or discharge of materials into the environment, the management of storm water runoff at construction sites, the handling, use, storage and disposal of hazardous substances, impacts to wetlands and other sensitive environments, and the remediation of contamination at properties that we have owned or developed or currently own or are developing (“environmental laws”). The particular environmental laws that apply to a site may vary greatly according to the community site, for example, due to the community, the environmental conditions at or near the site, and the present and former uses of the site. These environmental laws may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance, remediation and/or other costs, and can prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity. In addition, noncompliance with these laws and regulations could result in fines and penalties, obligations to remediate or take corrective action, permit revocations or other sanctions; and contamination or other environmental conditions at or in the vicinity of our developments may result in claims against us for personal injury, property damage or other losses.

We anticipate that increasingly stringent requirements will continue to be imposed on developers and homebuilders in the future. In addition, some of these laws and regulations that significantly affect how certain properties may be developed are contentious, attract intense political attention, and may be subject to significant changes over time. For example, regulations governing wetlands permitting under the federal Clean Water Act have been the subject of extensive rulemakings for many years, resulting in several major joint rulemakings by the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that have expanded and contracted the scope of wetlands subject to regulation; and such rulemakings have been the subject of many legal challenges, some of which remain pending. It is unclear how these and related developments, including at the state or local level, ultimately may affect the scope of regulated wetlands where we operate. Although we cannot reliably predict the extent of any effect these developments regarding wetlands, or any other requirements that may take effect, may have on us, they could result in time-consuming and expensive compliance programs and in substantial expenditures, which could cause delays and increase our cost of operations. In addition, our ability to obtain or renew permits or approvals and the continued effectiveness of permits already granted or approvals already obtained is dependent upon many factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as changes in policies, rules and regulations and their interpretations and application.

We may be liable for claims for damages as a result of use of hazardous materials.

As a homebuilding and land development business with a wide variety of historical homebuilding, land development, and construction activities, we could be liable for future claims for damages as a result of the past or present use of hazardous materials, including building materials or fixtures known or suspected to be hazardous, to contain hazardous materials, or to be associated with mold. Any such claims may adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition or operating results. Insurance coverage for such claims may be limited or non-existent.

Legal claims not resolved in our favor, such as product liability litigation and warranty claims may be costly.

As discussed in Item 3 – “Legal Proceedings,” in the ordinary course of business we are involved in litigation from time-to-time, including with homeowner associations, home buyers and other persons with whom we have relationships. For example, as a homebuilder, we are subject to construction defect and home warranty claims, including moisture intrusion and related claims, arising in the ordinary course of business. Such claims are common in the homebuilding industry and can be costly.

With regard to certain general liability exposures such as product liability claims, construction defect claims and related claims, assessment of claims and the related liability and reserve estimation process is highly judgmental and subject to a high degree of variability due to uncertainties such as trends in construction defect claims relative to our markets and the types of products we build, claim settlement patterns, insurance industry practices and legal interpretations, among others. Because of the high degree of judgment required in determining these estimated liability amounts, actual future costs could differ significantly from our currently estimated amounts. Furthermore, after claims are asserted for construction defects, it can be difficult to determine the extent to which assertions of such claims will expand geographically. In addition, the amount and scope of coverage offered by insurance companies is currently limited, and this coverage may be further restricted and become more costly. If we are not able to obtain adequate insurance against such claims, if the costs associated with such claims significantly exceed the amount of our insurance coverage, or if our insurers do not pay on claims under our policies (whether because of dispute, inability, or otherwise), we may experience losses that could hurt our financial results.

Our financial results could also be adversely affected if we were to experience an unusually high number of claims or unusually severe claims. Our insurance companies have the right to review our claims and claims history, and do so from time to time, and could decline to pay on such claims if such reviews determine the claims did not meet the terms for coverage. Additionally, we may need to significantly increase our construction defect and home warranty reserves as a result of insurance not being available for any of the reasons discussed above, such claims or the results of our annual actuarial study.

Tax increases and changes in tax rules may adversely affect our financial results.

As a company conducting business with physical operations throughout the U.S., we are exposed, both directly and indirectly, to the effects of changes in U.S., state and local tax rules. Taxes for financial reporting purposes and cash tax liabilities in the future may be adversely affected by changes in such tax rules. Such changes may put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to some of our major competitors, to the extent we are unable to pass the tax costs through to our customers.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

We conduct certain of our operations through unconsolidated joint ventures with independent third parties in which we do not have a controlling interest. These investments involve risks and are highly illiquid.

We currently operate through a number of unconsolidated homebuilding joint ventures with independent third parties in which we do not have a controlling interest. At October 31, 2024, we had invested an aggregate of $142.9 million in these unconsolidated joint ventures, including outstanding net advances to these unconsolidated joint ventures of $2.4 million. In addition, as part of our strategy, we intend to continue to evaluate additional joint venture opportunities; however, we may be limited in pursuing all such desirable opportunities because the indentures governing our outstanding debt securities and agreements governing our credit facilities impose certain restrictions, among others, on investments by us and certain of our subsidiaries (including in joint ventures).

These investments involve risks and are highly illiquid. There are a limited number of sources willing to provide acquisition, development and construction financing to land development and homebuilding joint ventures, and if market conditions become more challenging, it may be difficult or impossible to obtain financing for our joint ventures on commercially reasonable terms. In addition, we lack a controlling interest in these joint ventures and, therefore, are usually unable to require that our joint ventures sell assets or return invested capital, make additional capital contributions, or take any other action without the vote of at least one of our venture partners. Therefore, absent partner agreement, we will be unable to liquidate our joint venture investments to generate cash.

The Hovnanian family is able to exercise significant influence over us.

The combined ownership of members of the Hovnanian family, including Ara K. Hovnanian, our Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, through personal holdings, the limited partnership and the limited liability company established for members of Mr. Hovnanian’s family and family trusts of Class A and Class B common stock, enables them to exert significant control over us, including power to control the election of the Board of Directors and to approve matters presented to our stockholders. Such holdings represented approximately 58% of the votes that could be cast by the holders of our outstanding Class A and Class B common stock combined as of October 31, 2024. This concentration of ownership may also make some transactions, including mergers or other changes in control, more difficult or impossible without their support. Also, because of their combined voting power, circumstances may occur in which their interests could be in conflict with the interests of other stakeholders.

Our net operating loss carryforwards could be substantially limited if we experience an ownership change as defined in the Internal Revenue Code.

Based on past impairments and our financial performance in prior years, we generated a federal net operating loss carryforward of $398.8 million through the year ended October 31, 2024, and we may generate net operating loss carryforwards in future years.

Section 382 of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), contains rules that limit the ability of a company that undergoes an ownership change, which is generally any change in ownership of more than 50% of its stock over a three-year period, to utilize its net operating loss carryforwards and certain built-in losses recognized in years after the ownership change. These rules generally operate by focusing on ownership shifts among stockholders owning directly or indirectly 5% or more of the stock of a company and any change in ownership arising from a new issuance of stock by the company.

If we undergo an ownership change for purposes of Section 382 as a result of future transactions involving our stock, including purchases or sales of stock between 5% shareholders, our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and to recognize certain built-in losses would be subject to the limitations of Section 382. Depending on the resulting limitation, a significant portion of our net operating loss carryforwards could expire before we would be able to use them. A limitation imposed under Section 382 on our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards could have a negative impact on our financial position and results of operations.

The value of our deferred tax assets is also dependent upon the tax rates expected to be in effect at the time the taxable income is expected to be generated. A decrease in enacted corporate tax rates in our major jurisdictions, especially the U.S. federal corporate rate, would decrease the value of our deferred tax assets, which could be material.

 Our Board of Directors has adopted, and our shareholders have approved, a shareholder rights plan (the “Rights Plan”) designed to preserve shareholder value and the value of certain tax assets primarily associated with net operating loss carryforwards and built-in losses under Section 382 of the Code. The Rights Plan is intended to act as a deterrent to any person or group acquiring 4.9% or more of our outstanding Class A common stock (any such person an “Acquiring Person”), without the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors. Subject to the terms, provisions and conditions of the Rights Plan, if and when they become exercisable, each right would entitle its holder to purchase from the Company one ten-thousandth of a share of the Company’s Series B Junior Preferred Stock for a specified purchase price (the “purchase price”). The rights will not be exercisable until the earlier of (i) 10 business days after a public announcement by us that a person or group has become an Acquiring Person and (ii) 10 business days after the commencement of a tender or exchange offer by a person or group for 4.9% of the Class A common stock (the “distribution date”). If issued, each fractional share of Series B Junior Preferred Stock would give the stockholder approximately the same dividend, voting and liquidation rights as does one share of the Company’s Class A common stock. However, prior to exercise, a right does not give its holder any rights as a stockholder of the Company, including without limitation any dividend, voting or liquidation rights. After the distribution date, each holder of a right, other than rights beneficially owned by the Acquiring Person (which will thereupon become void), will thereafter have the right to receive upon exercise of a right and payment of the purchase price, that number of shares of Class A common stock or Class B common stock, as the case may be, having a market value of two times the purchase price. After the distribution date, our Board of Directors may exchange the rights (other than rights owned by an Acquiring Person which will have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio of one share of common stock, or a fractional share of Series B Junior Preferred Stock (or of a share of a similar class or series of Hovnanian’s preferred stock having similar rights, preferences and privileges) of equivalent value, per right (subject to adjustment).

In addition, our Restated Certificate of Incorporation restricts certain transfers of our common stock in order to preserve the tax treatment of our net operating loss carryforwards and built-in losses under Section 382 of the Code. Subject to certain exceptions pertaining to pre-existing 5% stockholders and Class B stockholders, the transfer restrictions in our Restated Certificate of Incorporation generally restrict any direct or indirect transfer (such as transfers of the Company’s stock that result from the transfer of interests in other entities that own the Company’s stock) if the effect would be to: (i) increase the direct or indirect ownership of the Company’s stock by any person (or public group) from less than 5% to 5% or more of the Company’s stock; (ii) increase the percentage of the Company’s stock owned directly or indirectly by a person (or public group) owning or deemed to own 5% or more of the Company’s stock; or (iii) create a new “public group” (as defined in the applicable U.S. Treasury regulations).

We could be adversely impacted by the loss of key management personnel or if we fail to attract qualified personnel.

To a significant degree, our future success depends on the efforts of our senior management, many of whom have been with the Company for a significant number of years, and our ability to attract qualified personnel. Our operations could be adversely affected if key members of our senior management leave the Company or if we cannot attract qualified personnel to manage growth in our business.

ITEM 1B

None.

ITEM 1C

Risk Management and Strategy

As part of our Enterprise Risk Management function, which is led by our Chief Financial Officer, we have implemented processes to assess, identify and manage material risks facing the Company, including from cyber threats. In fulfilling his Enterprise Risk Management responsibilities, our Chief Financial Officer collaborates closely with members of senior management and others, including outside experts. Our cybersecurity program maps to standards published by The National Institute of Standards and Technology. We believe that our processes provide us with a comprehensive assessment of potential cyber threats. On a regular basis, we conduct scans, penetration tests and vulnerability assessments of our systems. Our processes to assess, identify and manage the material risks from cyber threats includes risks arising from threats associated with third-party service providers, including cloud-based platforms.

We have developed a robust Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan which provides a documented framework for assessing cyber threats, managing high severity security incidents and facilitating coordination across multiple platforms throughout the Company and with outside agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Our cybersecurity team uses advanced tools to constantly monitor emerging threats and respond to potential cybersecurity incidents. In addition, we periodically perform simulations and drills, including tabletop exercises, aimed at evaluating the Company’s cybersecurity preparedness.

Internally, we have a Cybersecurity Awareness Program which includes annual training that reinforces our information technology and security policies, standards and practices. Our annual training includes education on how to identify potential cybersecurity risks and ways to protect our resources and information. This training is mandatory for all associates on an annual basis, and it is supplemented by testing initiatives, including periodic phishing tests. In addition, we distribute ongoing educational communications, such as newsletters on cybersecurity awareness and hot topics, throughout the year. We also provide additional specialized security training for our cybersecurity operations team, including attendance at cybersecurity conferences and training seminars, breach simulation exercises and personal accreditation training.

From time to time, we engage third-party vendors or service providers to enhance our risk mitigation efforts. For instance, we have periodically engaged an independent cybersecurity advisor to lead a live cybersecurity crisis simulation exercise with our senior management to prepare for a possible cybersecurity incident. In addition, we have engaged other outside assessors, consultants and third parties in connection with enhancing our cybersecurity program. We purchase insurance to protect us against the risk of cybersecurity breaches. Our Enterprise Risk Management function, along with our insurance broker, are responsible for our insurance programs and on a consistent basis our cybersecurity insurance policies are reviewed to assess whether we have appropriate coverage. Enterprise Risk Management also presents updates on our cybersecurity liability insurance to our Board of Directors, including industry claims data and benchmarking.

To date, risks from cybersecurity threats have not materially affected us, and we currently do not expect that the risks from cybersecurity threats are reasonably likely to materially affect us, including our business, strategy, results of operations or financial condition. That said, the sophistication of cyber threats continues to increase, and the preventative actions the Company takes to reduce the risk of cyber incidents and protect its systems and information may be insufficient. No matter how well designed or implemented the Company’s cybersecurity controls are, it will not be able to anticipate all security breaches, and it may not be able to implement effective preventive measures against cybersecurity breaches in a timely manner. See Item 1A “Risk Factors — Information technology failures and data security breaches could harm our business.”

Governance

Role of the Board

Our Enterprise Risk Management function is part of our Board of Directors’ overall risk management oversight process, which includes regular meetings to identify and evaluate both short and long-term risks and develop plans to manage such risks effectively. In addition, our Board of Directors established a Cybersecurity Subcommittee of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors in fiscal 2018 that receives regular updates from our cybersecurity operations team to assess the primary cybersecurity risks facing the Company, including, among other things, the status of projects to strengthen our information security systems, results of assessments performed as part of our Cybersecurity Awareness Program, the measures the Company is taking to mitigate cybersecurity risks and our views of the emerging threat landscape. Reports from outside experts who have been engaged by the Company to review and advise on cybersecurity preparedness are also shared with the Cybersecurity Subcommittee. The Cybersecurity Subcommittee regularly reports to the Board of Directors on the oversight work the subcommittee has performed.

Additionally, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for the primary oversight of our Enterprise Risk Management function, which includes an evaluation of cybersecurity risks and threats. In addition to the updates the Cybersecurity Subcommittee provides the Board of Directors, the Board of Directors and Audit Committee receive regular updates from management, including the Chief Information Officer and members of his team, as to changes in our cybersecurity risk profile and/or significant newly identified risks. Our Chief Financial Officer reports directly to both the Audit Committee as well as our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President and is responsible for reporting to each on our Company-wide Enterprise Risk Management function.

Role of Management

Our Chief Information Officer, together with our cybersecurity operations team, maintains 24/7 monitoring and is responsible for the day-to-day procedures related to our cybersecurity risks. We have established an Executive Incident Response Team, which includes our Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Officer, Vice President, Risk Management, Vice President, Corporate Counsel and other senior officers, which meets at least bi-annually to review our cybersecurity posture and discuss information security matters. The Executive Incident Response Team has primary oversight responsibility for assessing and managing technology and operational risk, including but not limited to, information security, fraud, vendor, data protection and privacy, business continuity and resilience, and cybersecurity risks.

We use our Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan as part of the process to keep our management, Board of Directors, Audit Committee and Cybersecurity Subcommittee informed about, and to monitor the prevention, detection, mitigation, and remediation of cybersecurity incidents. The policy is a set of coordinated procedures and tasks that our cybersecurity operations team, under the direction of the Chief Information Officer, executes with the goal of preventing cyber incidents through early detection. In the event there is a cybersecurity incident, the framework is designed to help mitigate the impact and ensure a timely and accurate response. Our cybersecurity framework includes regular assessments to ensure we are following our internal policies and standards, as well as applicable state and federal statutes or regulations. In addition, we validate compliance with our internal data security controls through the use of security monitoring utilities and internal and external audits.

Our Cybersecurity management team has extensive experience in the information technology area, including cybersecurity. In particular, our Chief Information Officer has over 25 years of experience managing information technology systems and eight years of experience leading cybersecurity initiatives in the information security area.

ITEM 2

We rent approximately 62,000 square feet of office space for our corporate headquarters and own 215,000 square feet of office and warehouse space in the Northeast. We lease approximately 278,000 square feet of space for our segments located in the Northeast, Southeast and West.

ITEM 3

The information required with respect to this item can be found under “Commitments and Contingent Liabilities” in Note 18 to our Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual report on Form 10-K, which is incorporated by reference into this Item 3. 

ITEM 4

Not applicable.

INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Information on executive officers of the registrant is incorporated herein from Part III, Item 10.

ITEM 5

Our Class A common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “HOV” and was held by 199 stockholders of record at December 12, 2024. There is no established public trading market for our Class B common stock, which was held by 148 stockholders of record at December 12, 2024. If a stockholder desires to sell shares of Class B common stock (other than to Permitted Transferees (as defined in the Company’s amended Certificate of Incorporation)), such stock must be converted into shares of Class A common stock at a one-to-one conversion rate. 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Equity Securities

None.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

None.

Performance Graph

This performance graph shall not be deemed “soliciting material” or “filed” with the SEC for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section, and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

The following graph compares the five-year cumulative total return of our Class A common stock with the Standard & Poor’s (“S&P”) 500 Index and the S&P Homebuilding Index. The graph assumes $100 invested on October 31, 2019 in our Class A common stock, the S&P 500 Index and the S&P Homebuilding Index, and the reinvestment of all dividends.

The stock price performance shown on the following graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock performance. 

Source: Standard & Poor’s, a division of S&P Global.

ITEM 6

ITEM 7

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).

The following tables and related discussion set forth key operating and financial data for our homebuilding and financial services operations as of and for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023. For similar operating and financial data and discussion of our fiscal 2023 results compared to our fiscal 2022 results, refer to Part II, Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on December 18, 2023.

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 and 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:

Overview

Market Conditions and Operating Results

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, inflation and overall housing affordability.

From January 2022 to October 2023, 30-year mortgage rates more than doubled. The sharp increase in interest rates, persistently high levels of inflation and doubt about the stability of the economy, negatively impacted housing demand beginning in the second half of fiscal 2022 and into fiscal 2023. During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, mortgage rates declined, which had a positive effect on our sales pace. Rates fluctuated for the remainder of fiscal 2024 and affordability generally remains challenging for homebuyers. We have been aggressive in our pricing, incentives and concessions in order to align with the current market.

We continue to use our increased inventory of quick move-in homes (“QMI homes”) to help meet buyers’ needs for more affordable housing in the recent uncertain interest rate environment. The time between contract signing and closing is shorter with a QMI home as compared to a to be built home, which provides customers with more certainty on their mortgage pricing. The availability of QMI homes also allows us to offer mortgage interest rate buydown assistance, which is a tool we offer through our wholly-owned mortgage banking subsidiary (“K. Hovnanian Mortgage”), to help ease the impact of higher monthly payments from rising interest rates. We pay the cost of interest rate buydowns for customers that qualify through K. Hovnanian Mortgage and decide to use the program. The level of interest rate based incentives utilized differs across our markets and is one of several available options we use to drive sales and close homes.

The number of existing home sales listings are at all-time low levels, which limits the supply of homes available for purchase, leading to increased demand for new homes, which leads to improved pricing power. During fiscal 2024, there was stronger demand for our homes as compared to the prior year, which led to a significant increase in net contracts and net contracts per average active selling community. We were able to increase net prices in approximately 34% of our communities during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024.

There still remains a great degree of uncertainty due to inflation, the continued possibility of an economic recession, employment risk and the potential for further mortgage rate increases. While we continue to experience some lingering supply chain issues, we remain focused on continuing to shorten our construction cycle times and building on our national initiatives to drive down costs with our material providers and trade partners. The changing conditions in the housing market, and in the general economy, make it difficult to predict how strongly our business will be impacted by these external factors over fiscal 2025 and beyond.

Our cash position allowed us to spend $995.4 million on land purchases and land development for long-term growth during fiscal 2024, and still have total liquidity of $338.2 million, including $210.0 million of homebuilding cash and cash equivalents and $125.0 million of borrowing capacity under our senior secured revolving credit facility as of October 31, 2024. 

Additional information on our results for the year ended October 31, 2024 were as follows: 

● For the year ended October 31, 2024, sale of homes revenues increased 9.3% as compared to the prior year, primarily due to a 9.6% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by a 0.3% decrease in average sales price. The increase in deliveries in fiscal 2024 was primarily the result of a 15.0% increase in community count as well as an increase in QMI contracts.

● Homebuilding gross margin percentage decreased from 19.6% for the year ended October 31, 2023 to 18.7% for the year ended October 31, 2024, and homebuilding gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, decreased from 22.7% for the year ended October 31, 2023 to 22.0% for the year ended October 31, 2024. The decreases were primarily due to the increased use of incentives and concessions, including additional mortgage interest rate buydowns, to make our homes more affordable.

● Selling, general and administrative expenses (including corporate general and administrative) increased $37.5 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 as compared to the prior year, however, as a percentage of total revenue, such costs were relatively flat at 11.4% for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to 11.1% for the year ended October 31, 2023. The increase was primarily due to an increase in advertising expenses and compensation expense, mainly related to increased headcount and annual merit increases, along with grants of phantom stock awards under our 2019, 2023 and 2024 long-term incentive plans, for which expense is impacted by the change in our stock price each period. The increase in headcount is in preparation for growth in community count and deliveries in fiscal 2025.

● Other interest decreased to $30.8 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 from $54.1 million for the year ended October 31, 2023, primarily due to a reduction in principal of our senior notes as a result of redemptions during fiscal 2023 and the first quarter of fiscal 2024, and the debt exchange executed in the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

● Income before income taxes increased to $317.1 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 from $256.0 million for the year ended October 31, 2023. Net income increased to $242.0 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 from $205.9 million for the year ended October 31, 2023. Net income for the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, included gains of $45.7 million and $19.1 million, respectively, from the consolidation of previously unconsolidated joint ventures. Net income for the year ended October 31, 2023 included a $25.6 million loss on extinguishment of debt.

● Earnings per share, basic and diluted, increased to $34.40 and $31.79, respectively, for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to earnings per share, basic and diluted of $28.76 and $26.88, respectively, for the year ended October 31, 2023.

● Net contracts increased 11.6% to 5,186 for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to 4,647 in the prior year, primarily driven by demand for new homes resulting from the low supply of existing homes for sale and overall growth in the broader economy. Included in the year ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, were 276 and 438 build-for-rent contracts. Net contracts, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, increased 16.1% to 6,007 for the year ended October 31, 2024, from 5,172 in fiscal 2023.

● Net contracts per average active selling community increased to 43.6 for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to 40.8 in the prior year. The increase was due to the increase in net contracts discussed above.

● Active selling communities increased to 130 at October 31, 2024 compared to 113 at October 31, 2023, and our total lots controlled increased to 41,891 at October 31, 2024 compared to 31,726 at October 31, 2023. We expect our community count will continue to grow in fiscal 2025.

● Contract backlog decreased from 1,824 homes at October 31, 2023 to 1,649 homes at October 31, 2024, and the dollar value of contract backlog decreased to $936.8 billion, a 11.7% decrease in dollar value compared to the prior year. Our backlog conversion ratio has increased from the prior year due to our focus on having more QMI homes available to sell and deliver. 

Total Revenues

Compared to the prior year, revenues (decreased) increased as follows:

Homebuilding: Sale of Homes

Sale of homes revenues increased $245.0 million, or 9.3%, for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to the prior year. The increased revenues in fiscal 2024 were primarily due to a 9.6% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by the average sales price per home decreasing slightly to $537,675 in fiscal 2024 from $539,249 in fiscal 2023. The increase in deliveries in fiscal 2024 was primarily the result of community count increasing, along with an increase in our backlog conversion ratio. The decrease in average sales price in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to the geographic and community mix of our deliveries. For further detail on changes in segment revenues see “Homebuilding Operations by Segment” below. Land sales are ancillary to our homebuilding operations and are expected to continue in the future but may fluctuate significantly up or down. For further detail on land sales and other revenues, see the section titled “Homebuilding: Land Sales and Other Revenues” below.

Information on the sale of homes is set forth in the table below:

(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. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, we delivered 2,176 homes in our unconsolidated joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. See Note 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of our joint ventures.

Homebuilding: Land Sales and Other Revenues

Land sales and other revenues decreased $10.1 million for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to the prior year. Other revenues include interest income, which decreased as a result of lower rates on cash and cash equivalent accounts beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to the prior year. Revenue associated with land sales can vary significantly due to the mix of land parcels sold. There were six land sales during the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to four in the prior year.

Homebuilding: Cost of Sales

Cost of sales includes expenses for consolidated housing and land and lot sales, including inventory impairment and land option write-offs (defined as “land charges” in the tables below). A breakout of such expenses for homebuilding and land and lot sales and the gross margins for each 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 U.S. 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 comparable 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 levels of impairments and debt.

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

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 18.7% for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to 19.6% for the prior year. Total homebuilding gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges decreased to 22.0% for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to 22.7% for the prior year. The decreases in gross margins were primarily due to increases in our use of incentives and concessions, including additional mortgage interest rate buydowns, to make our homes more affordable.

Land and lot sale expenses and gross margins are set forth below:

Homebuilding: Inventory Impairments and Land Option Write-offs

Inventory impairments and land option write-offs reflect certain inventories we have either written off or written down to their estimated fair value totaling $11.6 million and $1.5 million in expense for the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. During the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, we wrote off residential land option, approval and engineering costs totaling $1.6 million and $1.5 million, respectively. Land option, approval and engineering costs are written off when a community’s pro forma profitability is not projected to produce an adequate return on investment commensurate with the risk. If we determine an adequate return is not probable, we cancel the option, or when a community is redesigned, we write off the engineering costs related to the initial design. Such write-offs occurred across each of our segments in fiscal 2024 and 2023. Inventory impairments were $10.0 million in the aggregate for the year ended October 31, 2024 for two communities in our Northeast segment and two communities in our West segment. We did not record any inventory impairments for the year ended October 31, 2023. It is difficult to predict future impairments, but if conditions in the overall housing industry or a specific geographic market worsen in the future beyond our current expectations, there are future changes in our business strategy that significantly affect the key assumptions used in our projections of future cash flows, and/or there are material changes in any other items we consider in assessing recoverability, we may need to recognize additional inventory impairments and any such charges could be material.

In fiscal 2024, we walked away from 9.7% of all the lots we controlled under option contracts. The remaining 90.3% of our option lots are in communities that we believe remain economically feasible.

The following table represents lot option walk-aways by segment for the year ended October 31, 2024:

Homebuilding: Selling, General and Administrative

Homebuilding selling, general and administrative (“SGA”) expenses remained nearly flat with a $0.9 million increase to $202.5 million for the year ended October 31, 2024, compared to the prior fiscal year.

Homebuilding: Key Performance Indicators

Net Contracts Per Average Active Selling Community

Net contracts per average active selling community in fiscal 2024 were 43.6 compared to 40.8 in fiscal 2023, a 6.9% increase in sales pace per community. Our reported level of sales contracts (net of cancellations) was impacted by an increase in our active selling communities and an increase in customer demand partially due to the increased availability of QMI homes. 

Contract Cancellation Rates

The following table provides historical quarterly cancellation rates, which represents the number of cancelled contracts in the quarter divided by the number of gross sales contracts executed in the quarter, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures:

The following table provides quarterly contract cancellations as a percentage of the beginning backlog, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures:

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. Due to our solid backlog position, our cancellation rate as a percentage of beginning backlog for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024 was 15%, which approximates our historical normal rate. When sales pace is increasing, the cancellation rate as a percentage of beginning backlog tends to lag the changes seen in our cancellation rate as a percentage of gross sales. Market conditions, although continuing to improve, still remain uncertain and it is difficult to predict what cancellation rates will be in the future.

Contract Backlog

Our consolidated contract backlog, excluding unconsolidated joint ventures, by segment is set forth below:

Contract backlog dollars decreased 11.7% as of October 31, 2024 compared to October 31, 2023, and the number of homes in backlog decreased 9.6% for the same period. The decrease in backlog dollars and number of homes for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to the prior fiscal year was primarily driven by an increase in sales of QMI homes and improved contract backlog conversion.

Homebuilding Operations by Segment 

Financial information relating to our homebuilding operations by segment was as follows:

Homebuilding Results by Segment

Northeast –Homebuilding revenues increased 6.9% in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, primarily due to a 1.7% increase in homes delivered and a 6.1% increase in average sales price. The increase in average sales price was the result of new communities delivering higher priced, larger single family homes and condominiums in higher-end submarkets of the segment in fiscal 2024 compared to some communities delivering lower priced, smaller single family homes and townhomes in lower-end submarkets of the segment in fiscal 2023, which were no longer delivering in the current year.

Income before income taxes increased $12.0 million to $190.5 million in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenue discussed above and a $1.1 million decrease in SGA, while gross margin percentage remained relatively flat.

Southeast – Homebuilding revenues increased 6.8% in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, primarily due to a 13.1% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by a 5.7% decrease in average sales price. The decrease in average sales price was the result of new communities delivering lower priced, smaller single family homes, townhomes and build-for-rent homes in lower-end submarkets of the segment in fiscal 2024 compared to some communities in fiscal 2023 that had higher priced, larger single family homes and townhomes in mid to higher-end submarkets, which were no longer delivering in the current year.

Income before income taxes remained relatively flat, with a $0.1 million decrease to $77.6 million in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023. There was a slight decrease in gross margin percentage in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023.

West – Homebuilding revenues increased 10.9% in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, primarily due to a 13.7% increase in homes delivered, partially offset by a 2.2% decrease in average sales price. The decrease in average sales price was mainly the result of new communities delivering lower priced, smaller single family homes in lower-end submarkets of the segment in fiscal 2024 compared to some communities in fiscal 2023 that had higher priced, larger single family homes and condominiums in mid to higher-end submarkets, which were no longer delivering in the current year.

Income before income taxes increased $9.2 million to $123.2 million in fiscal 2024 compared to fiscal 2023, primarily due to the increase in homebuilding revenue discussed above and a $5.7 million increase in income from unconsolidated joint ventures, while gross margin percentage remained relatively flat.

Financial Services

Financial services consists primarily of originating mortgages for 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 years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, our conforming conventional loan originations as a percentage of our total loans were 64.0% and 69.8%, respectively. FHA/VA loans represented 35.4% and 29.5%, respectively, of our total loans. The remaining 0.6% and 0.7% of our loan originations represent loans which exceed conforming conventions. Realized gains and losses relating to the sale of mortgage loans are recognized when control passes to the buyer of the mortgage.

During the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, financial services provided $24.1 million and $19.4 million of income before income taxes, respectively. In fiscal 2024, financial services income before income taxes increased $4.7 million from the prior year primarily due to an increase in the volume of loans closed and an increase in the average size of the loans settled. In the markets served by our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiaries, 79.4% and 70.1% of our noncash home buyers obtained mortgages originated by these subsidiaries during the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Corporate General and Administrative

Corporate general and administrative 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 $36.5 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to the year ended October 31, 2023, primarily due to an increase in compensation expense, mainly related to increased headcount and annual merit increases and increased expense related to grants of phantom stock awards under our 2019, 2023 and 2024 long-term incentive plans, for which expense is impacted by the change in our stock price each period. In addition, since the 2024 long-term incentive plan was new in the current year this resulted in incremental stock compensation expense when compared to the prior year.

Other Interest

Other interest decreased $23.3 million to $30.8 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 compared to the year ended October 31, 2023. Our assets that qualify for interest capitalization (inventory under development) exceeded our debt during the third quarter of fiscal 2024, therefore, all of the related interest incurred during fiscal 2024 qualified for interest capitalization instead of being directly expensed. Also contributing to the decrease in Other interest was the reduction in principal of our senior notes as a result of redemptions during fiscal 2023 and the first quarter of fiscal 2024, and the debt exchange executed in the third quarter of fiscal 2024.

Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt, Net

On November 15, 2023, we redeemed in full all of the $113.5 million aggregate principal amount of our 10.0% Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Notes due 2025 for a redemption price of $119.2 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest. This redemption resulted in a gain on extinguishment of debt of $1.4 million, including the write-off of unamortized premiums, debt issuance costs and fees.

On May 30, 2023, we redeemed $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 7.75% Senior Secured 1.125 Lien Notes due 2026 (the “Existing 1.125 Lien Notes”). The aggregate purchase price for this redemption was $104.2 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest and was funded with cash on hand. This redemption resulted in a loss on extinguishment of debt of $4.1 million, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and fees.

On August 29, 2023, we redeemed an additional $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of our Existing 1.125 Lien Notes. The aggregate purchase price for this redemption was $102.2 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest and was funded with cash on hand. This redemption resulted in a loss on extinguishment of debt of $3.8 million, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and fees.

On September 7, 2023, we repurchased in the open market $45.0 million aggregate principal amount of our 10.0% Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Notes due 2025. The aggregate purchase price for this repurchase was $46.7 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest and which was funded with cash on hand. This repurchase resulted in a gain on extinguishment of debt of $0.2 million, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and fees.

On October 5, 2023, we issued new 8.0% Senior Secured 1.125 Lien Notes due 2028 (the “New 1.125 Lien Notes”) and new 11.75% Senior Secured 1.25 Lien Notes due 2029 (the “New 1.25 Lien Notes”) and redeemed with the proceeds from the issuances of the New 1.125 Lien Notes and New 1.25 Lien Notes all of the remaining (i) $50.0 million aggregate principal amount of our Existing 1.125 Lien Notes for a redemption price of $51.5 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest, (ii) $282.3 million aggregate principal amount of our 10.5% Senior Secured 1.25 Lien Notes due 2026 for a redemption price of $293.9 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest, and (iii) $162.3 million aggregate principal amount of our 11.25% Senior Secured 1.5 Lien Notes due 2026 for a redemption price of $164.8 million, which included accrued and unpaid interest. These redemptions resulted in a loss on extinguishment of debt of $17.9 million, including the write-off of unamortized debt issuance costs and fees.

Income from Unconsolidated Joint Ventures

Income from unconsolidated joint ventures consists of our share of the earnings or losses of our joint ventures. Income from unconsolidated joint ventures increased to $52.3 million for the year ended October 31, 2024 from income of $43.2 million for the year ended October 31, 2023. The increase of $9.1 million in fiscal 2024 was primarily due to the recognition of additional income from two of our unconsolidated joint ventures; because the joint venture partner achieved certain return hurdles, the Company was able to recognize a higher share of the unconsolidated joint venture’s income than it had in the prior year.

Income Taxes

Income tax expense of $75.1 million and $50.1 million for the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, was primarily driven by federal and state tax expense on income before income taxes and non-deductible executive compensation expense, partially offset by the generation of energy efficient home tax credits. Income tax expense for fiscal years 2024 and 2023 also reflected the favorable impact of releasing state valuation allowances. The federal tax expense is not paid in cash as it is offset by the use of our existing net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards.

Deferred federal and state income tax assets (“DTAs”) primarily represent the deferred tax benefits arising from NOL carryforwards and temporary differences between book and tax income which will be recognized in subsequent years as an offset against future taxable income. If the combination of future years’ income (or loss) and the reversal of the timing differences results in a loss, such losses can be carried forward to future years. In accordance with ASC 740, we evaluate our DTAs quarterly to determine if valuation allowances are required. We assess whether valuation allowances should be established based on the consideration of all available evidence using a “more-likely-than-not” standard.

As of October 31, 2024, we considered the weight of all available positive and negative evidence to determine the valuation allowance for DTAs of $55.7 million. See Note 11 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further information.

Deferred tax assets, net, of $241.0 million at October 31, 2024 decreased $61.8 million from October 31, 2023, due primarily to the utilization of our DTAs to offset tax expense on taxable income during fiscal 2024.

Contractual Obligations

The following summarizes our aggregate contractual commitments at October 31, 2024:

We had outstanding letters of credit and performance bonds of $2.6 million and $225.7 million, respectively, at October 31, 2024, related primarily to our obligations to local governments to construct roads and other improvements in various developments. We do not believe that any such letters of credit or performance bonds are likely to be drawn upon.

Capital Resources and Liquidity

Overview

Our total liquidity at October 31, 2024 was $338.2 million, including $210.0 million in homebuilding cash and cash equivalents and $125.0 million of borrowing capacity under our senior secured revolving credit facility. This was above our target liquidity range of $170.0 to $245.0 million. We believe that our cash on hand together with available borrowings on our senior secured revolving credit facility will be sufficient through fiscal 2025 to finance our working capital requirements.

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. We may not be able to obtain desired financing even if market conditions, including then-current market available interest rates (in recent years, we have not been able to access the traditional capital and bank lending markets at competitive interest rates due to our highly leveraged capital structure), would otherwise be favorable, which could also impact our ability to grow our business. 

Operating, Investing and Financing Cash Flow Activities 

We spent $995.4 million on land and land development during fiscal 2024. After land and land development spending and all other operating activities, including revenue received from deliveries, we had $23.6 million in cash provided by operations. During fiscal 2024, cash used in investing activities was $46.5 million, primarily due to a new joint venture entered into during the period, along with spending on capitalized software, partially offset by distributions of capital from existing unconsolidated joint ventures. Cash used in financing activities was $187.9 million during fiscal 2024, which was primarily due to a $113.5 million redemption of our senior secured notes, net payments of $31.5 million related to the May 2024 debt exchange, net payments for nonrecourse mortgage financings, treasury stock purchases and payments of preferred dividends, partially offset by net proceeds from our mortgage warehouse lines of credit, land banking financings and model sale leaseback financings. We intend to continue to use nonrecourse mortgages, model sale leasebacks, joint ventures, and, subject to covenant restrictions in our debt instruments, land banking programs as our business needs dictate.

Our cash uses during the years ended October 31, 2024 and 2023 were for operating expenses, land purchases, land deposits, land development, construction spending, debt payments, model sale leasebacks, land banking transactions, state income taxes, interest payments, preferred dividend payments, financing transaction costs, debt and equity 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, nonrecourse mortgage transactions, income from unconsolidated joint ventures, financial service revenues and other revenues.

Our net income historically does not approximate cash flow from operating activities. The difference between net income and cash flow from operating activities is primarily caused by changes in inventory levels together with changes in receivables, prepaid expenses and other assets, mortgage loans held for sale, accrued interest, deferred income taxes, accounts payable and other liabilities, and noncash charges relating to depreciation, stock compensation and impairments. When we are expanding our operations, inventory levels, prepaid expenses 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, prepaid expenses 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. 

See “Inventories” below for a detailed discussion of our inventory position.

Debt Transactions

Senior secured notes, senior notes and credit facilities balances as of October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2023, were as follows:

(1) On November 15, 2023, K. Hovnanian redeemed all of its $113.5 million aggregate principal amount of 10.0% Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Notes due November 15, 2025.

(2) On May 21, 2024, K. Hovnanian exchanged $64.0 million aggregate principal amount of 13.5% Senior Notes due February 1, 2026 and cash, $65.2 million aggregate principal amount of 5.0% Senior Notes due February 1, 2040 and all of its $39.6 million aggregate principal amount of loans under the Senior Unsecured Term Loan Credit Facility due February 1, 2027 and cash for an additional $93.5 million aggregate principal amount of loans under the Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Term Loan Credit Facility due January 31, 2028.

(3) At October 31, 2024, provides for up to $125.0 million in aggregate amount of senior secured first lien revolving loans. The revolving loans thereunder have a maturity of June 30, 2026 and borrowings bear interest, at K. Hovnanian’s option, at either (i) a term secured overnight financing rate (subject to a floor of 3.00%) plus an applicable margin of 4.50% or (ii) an alternate base rate (subject to a floor of 4.00%) plus an applicable margin of 3.50%. In addition, K. Hovnanian will pay an unused commitment fee on the undrawn revolving commitments at a rate of 1.00% per annum.

Except for K. Hovnanian, the issuer of the notes and borrower under the credit agreements governing our term loans and revolving credit facilities (collectively, the “Credit Facilities”), 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 and senior notes outstanding at October 31, 2024 (collectively, the “Notes Guarantors”).

The credit agreements governing the Credit Facilities and the indentures governing the senior secured and senior notes (together with the Credit Facilities, the “Debt Instruments”) outstanding at October 31, 2024 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 (including through exchanges or certain other types of transactions) indebtedness, pay dividends and make distributions on common and preferred stock, repay/repurchase 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 (the “Secured Term Loans”) made under the Senior Secured 1.75 Lien Term Loan Credit Facility due January 31, 2028, and loans (the “Secured Revolving Loans”) made under the Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement due June 30, 2026, or notes to be immediately due and payable if not cured within applicable grace periods, including the failure to make timely payments on the 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 Secured Term Loans and Secured Revolving Loans, material inaccuracy of representations and warranties and with respect to the 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 October 31, 2024, we believe we were in compliance with the covenants of the Debt Instruments.

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 and dividends (in the case of certain of such payments, our secured debt leverage ratio must also be less than 4.0 to 1.0), and from incurring indebtedness other than certain permitted indebtedness and nonrecourse indebtedness. Beginning as of October 31, 2021, as a result of our improved operating results, we were no longer restricted from paying dividends. As such, we have made dividend payments of $2.7 million to preferred shareholders in every quarter since the first quarter of fiscal 2022. We currently believe our ratios will permit us to continue to make dividend payments on our preferred stock. However, with general economic uncertainty, it is difficult to predict long-term market conditions and the effects on our business and if and when we may be restricted under our Debt Instruments from continuing to pay dividends on our Series A preferred stock. Dividends on the Series A preferred stock are not cumulative and, accordingly, if for any reason we do not declare a dividend on the Series A preferred stock for a quarterly dividend period (regardless of our availability of funds), holders of the Series A Preferred Stock will have no right to receive a dividend for that period, and we will have no obligation to pay a dividend for that period.

Under the terms of our Debt Instruments, we have the right to make certain redemptions and prepayments and, depending on market conditions, our strategic priorities 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, interest rates and/or extend maturities, and will seek to do so with the right opportunity. We may also continue to make debt or equity purchases and/or exchanges from time to time through tender offers, exchange offers, redemptions, 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, even if market conditions, including then-current market available interest rates (in recent years, we have not been able to access the traditional capital and bank lending markets at competitive interest rates due to our highly leveraged capital structure), would otherwise be favorable, which could also impact our ability to grow our business.

See Note 9 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of K. Hovnanian’s Credit Facilities, senior secured notes and senior notes, including information with respect to the collateral securing our Debt Instruments.

Mortgages and Notes Payable

We have nonrecourse mortgage loans for certain communities totaling $90.7 million and $91.5 million, net of debt issuance costs, at October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2023, respectively, which are secured by the related real property, including any improvements, with an aggregate book value of $249.7 million and $331.6 million, respectively. The weighted-average interest rate on these obligations was 8.7% and 8.5% at October 31, 2024 and October 31, 2023, respectively, and the mortgage loan payments on each community primarily correspond to home deliveries.

K. Hovnanian Mortgage originates mortgage loans primarily from the sale of our homes. Such mortgage loans and related servicing rights are generally sold in the secondary mortgage market within a short period of time. K. Hovnanian Mortgage finances the origination of mortgage loans through various master repurchase agreements, which are recorded in “Financial services” liabilities on the 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 October 31, 2024 and 2023, we had an aggregate of $131.4 million and $110.8 million, respectively, outstanding under several of K. Hovnanian Mortgage’s short-term borrowing facilities.

 See Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a further discussion of these agreements and facilities.

Equity 

On September 1, 2022, our Board of Directors authorized a repurchase program for up to $50.0 million of our Class A common stock. Under the program, repurchases may be made from time to time in open market transactions, in privately negotiated transactions or otherwise. The timing and the actual dollar amount repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price, future tax implications and economic and market conditions. The repurchase program may be changed, suspended or discontinued at any time and does not have a specified expiration date. During the year ended October 31, 2024, we repurchased 188,800 shares, with a market value of $26.5 million, or $140.31 per share. During the year ended October 31, 2023, we repurchased 118,478 shares, with a market value of $4.8 million, or $40.51 per share. Share repurchases are added to “Treasury stock” on our Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of October 31, 2024, $6.5 million of our Class A common stock is available for repurchase under our share repurchase program.

On July 12, 2005, we issued 5,600 shares of 7.625% Series A preferred stock, with a liquidation preference of $25,000 per share. Dividends on the Series A preferred stock are not cumulative and are payable at an annual rate of 7.625%. The Series A preferred stock is not convertible into the Company’s common stock and is redeemable in whole or in part at our option at the liquidation preference of the shares. The Series A preferred stock is traded as depositary shares, with each depositary share representing 1/1000th of a share of Series A preferred stock. The depositary shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol “HOVNP.” During both fiscal 2024 and 2023 we paid dividends of $10.7 million on the Series A preferred stock.

Unconsolidated Joint Ventures 

We have investments in unconsolidated joint ventures in various markets where our homebuilding operations are located. As of October 31, 2024 and 2023, we had investments in six and seven unconsolidated homebuilding joint ventures, respectively, and one unconsolidated land development joint venture as of October 31, 2023. Our unconsolidated joint ventures had total combined assets of $845.1 million and $884.4 million at October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our investments in unconsolidated joint ventures totaled $142.9 million and $97.9 million at October 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The increase in our investments of $45.0 million was primarily due to a new joint venture formed during the year, along with income recognized from existing joint ventures, partially offset by the consolidation of a previously unconsolidated joint venture.

As of October 31, 2024 and 2023, our unconsolidated joint ventures had outstanding debt totaling $88.7 million and $101.1 million, respectively, under separate construction loan agreements with different third-party lenders and affiliates of certain investment partners to finance land development activities. The outstanding debt is secured by the underlying property and related project assets and is non-recourse to us. Although we and our unconsolidated joint venture partners provide certain guarantees and indemnities to the lender, we do not have a guaranty or any other obligation to repay the outstanding debt or to support the value of the collateral underlying the outstanding debt. Our guarantees are limited to performance and completion of development activities, environmental indemnification and standard warranty and representation against fraud, misrepresentation and similar actions, including voluntary bankruptcy. We do not believe that our existing exposure under our guaranty and indemnity obligations related to the outstanding debt is material.

We determined that none of our joint ventures were a variable interest entity. All our unconsolidated joint ventures were accounted for under the equity method because we did not have a controlling financial interest. See Notes 19 and 20 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for further discussion of joint ventures and variable interest entities.

Inventories

Total inventory, excluding consolidated inventory not owned, increased $309.4 million during the year ended October 31, 2024 from October 31, 2023. Total inventory, excluding consolidated inventory not owned, increased in the Northeast by $155.1 million, in the Southeast by $2.8 million and in the West by $151.5 million. The increases were primarily attributable to new land purchases and land development during the period, along with an increase in inventory from the consolidation of a previously unconsolidated joint venture. The increases were partially offset by home deliveries and land sales. In addition, our sold and unsold homes have increased as we focus on building more QMI homes. 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 October 31, 2024 are expected to close during the next six to nine months.

Consolidated inventory not owned, which consists of options related to land banking and model financing, decreased $13.8 million during fiscal 2024. The decrease was primarily due to a decrease in land banking transactions, partially offset by an increase in the sale and leaseback of certain model homes during the period. We have land banking arrangements, whereby we sell land parcels to 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, these transactions are considered a financing rather than a sale. Our Consolidated Balance Sheet, at October 31, 2024, included inventory of $164.9 million recorded to “Consolidated inventory not owned,” with a corresponding amount of $94.1 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 and the ability to repurchase model homes with below market options, these sale and leaseback transactions are considered a financing rather than a sale. Therefore, our Consolidated Balance Sheet, at October 31, 2024, included inventory of $46.1 million recorded to “Consolidated inventory not owned,” with a corresponding amount of $46.2 million (net of debt issuance costs) recorded to “Liabilities from inventory not owned” for the amount of net cash received from sale and leaseback transactions.

In the ordinary course of business, we enter into land and lot option purchase contracts in order to procure land or lots for the construction of homes. Lot option contracts enable us to control significant lot positions with a minimal capital investment and substantially reduce the risks associated with land ownership and development. At October 31, 2024, we had total cash deposits of $264.8 million to purchase land and lots with a total purchase price of $3.0 billion. Our financial exposure is generally limited to forfeiture of the nonrefundable deposits, letters of credit and other nonrefundable amounts incurred. We have no material third-party guarantees.

The following tables summarize home sites included in our total residential real estate: