FAIR VALUE

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received in the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. There is a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which categorizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The following table represents the Company's fair value hierarchy for its financial assets (cash, cash equivalents and investments) measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2014 (in thousands):



	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Cash	$	482,728	$	—	$	—	$	482,728
Money market funds	655		—		—		655
Commercial paper	2,812		—		—		2,812
Auction rate securities	—		—		21,081		21,081
Total assets measured at fair value	$	486,195	$	—	$	21,081	$	507,276

The following table represents the Company's fair value hierarchy for its financial assets (cash, cash equivalents and investments) and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2013 (in thousands):



	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets:
Cash	$	134,989	$	—	$	—	$	134,989
Money market funds	50,593		—		—		50,593
Commercial paper	70,371		—		—		70,371
Auction rate securities	—		—		21,990		21,990
Total assets measured at fair value	$	255,953	$	—	$	21,990	$	277,943
Liabilities:
Deferred consideration	$	—	$	—	$	1,344	$	1,344
Total liabilities measured at fair value	$	—	$	—	$	1,344	$	1,344

The Company’s Level 3 assets consist of ARS, whose underlying assets are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the Federal Family Education Loan Program (“FFELP”) of the U.S. Department of Education.

The following tables summarize changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended September 30,					Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014			2013		2014			2013
Balance at beginning of period	$	21,639		$	21,675	$	21,990		$	21,662
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	42			—		241			63
Settlements	(600		)	—		(1,150		)	(50		)
Balance at end of period	$	21,081		$	21,675	$	21,081		$	21,675


5.	FAIR VALUE — (CONTINUED)

The following table summarizes changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets from December 31, 2007 to September 30, 2014 (in thousands):



	Auction Rate Securities
Balance at December 31, 2007	$	53,975
Increase in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	(3,710		)
Settlements	(20,925		)
Balance at December 31, 2008	29,340
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	684
Settlements	(300		)
Balance at December 31, 2009	29,724
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	40
Settlements	(575		)
Balance at December 31, 2010	29,189
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	245
Settlements	(4,850		)
Balance at December 31, 2011	24,584
Auction rate securities upon acquisition	442
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	836
Settlements	(4,200		)
Balance at December 31, 2012	21,662
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	378
Settlements	(50		)
Balance at December 31, 2013	21,990
Decrease in unrealized loss included in accumulated other comprehensive loss	241
Settlements	(1,150		)
Balance at September 30, 2014	$	21,081

ARS are variable rate debt instruments whose interest rates are reset approximately every 28 days. The majority of the underlying securities have contractual maturities greater than twenty years. The ARS are recorded at fair value.

As of September 30, 2014, the Company held ARS with $23.2 million par value, all of which failed to settle at auction. The majority of these investments are of high credit quality with AAA credit ratings and are primarily student loan securities supported by guarantees from the FFELP of the U.S. Department of Education. The Company may not be able to liquidate and fully recover the carrying value of the ARS in the near term. As a result, these securities are classified as long-term investments in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2014.

While the Company continues to earn interest on its ARS investments at the contractual rate, these investments are not currently actively trading and therefore do not currently have a readily determinable market value. The estimated fair value of the ARS no longer approximates par value. The Company used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of its investment in ARS as of September 30, 2014. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model include estimates for interest rates, credit spreads, timing and amount of contractual cash flows, liquidity risk premiums, expected holding periods and default risk. The Company updates the discounted cash flow model on a quarterly basis to reflect any changes in the assumptions used in the model and settlements of ARS investments that occurred during the period.


5.	FAIR VALUE — (CONTINUED)

The only significant unobservable input in the discounted cash flow model is the discount rate. The discount rate used represents the Company's estimate of the yield expected by a market participant from the ARS investments. The weighted average discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model as of September 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 was approximately 5.1% and 4.9%, respectively. Selecting another discount rate within the range used in the discounted cash flow model would not result in a significant change to the fair value of the ARS.

Based on this assessment of fair value, as of September 30, 2014, the Company determined there was a decline in the fair value of its ARS investments of approximately $1.3 million. The decline was deemed to be a temporary impairment and recorded as an unrealized loss in accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. In addition, while a majority of the ARS are currently rated AAA, if the issuers are unable to successfully close future auctions and/or their credit ratings deteriorate, the Company may be required to record additional unrealized losses in accumulated other comprehensive loss or an other-than-temporary impairment charge to earnings on these investments.

As of September 30, 2014, the Company had no Level 3 liabilities. As of September 30, 2013, the Company held Level 3 liabilities for deferred consideration that it acquired as a result of the April 30, 2012 acquisition of LoopNet. The deferred consideration included potential deferred cash payments in connection with acquisitions LoopNet completed in 2010 including: (i) potential deferred cash payments due to the sellers of LandsofAmerica.com, LLC ("LandsofAmerica") on March 31, 2014 based on LandsofAmerica's achievement of financial and operational milestones, resulting in undiscounted deferred consideration as of December 31, 2013 of approximately $1.0 million; and (ii) potential deferred cash payments due to the sellers of Reaction Corp. ("Reaction Web") on March 31, 2014 based on Reaction Web's achievement of revenue milestones, resulting in undiscounted deferred consideration as of December 31, 2013 of approximately $344,000. On March 28, 2013, the Company paid $1.0 million to the sellers of LandsofAmerica for the achievement of financial and operational milestones in 2012 and paid approximately $344,000 to the sellers of Reaction Web for the achievement of revenue milestones in 2012. On March 31, 2014, the Company paid $1.0 million to the sellers of LandsofAmerica for the achievement of financial and operational milestones in 2013 and paid approximately $344,000 to the sellers of Reaction Web for the achievement of revenue milestones in 2013.

The following tables summarize changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 liabilities for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013 (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2014		2013		2014			2013
Balance at beginning of period	$	—	$	1,146	$	1,344		$	2,304
Accretion for period	—		62		—			248
Payments made during period	—		—		(1,344		)	(1,344		)
Balance at end of period	$	—	$	1,208	$	—		$	1,208

The following table summarizes changes in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 liabilities from December 31, 2012 to September 30, 2014 (in thousands):



	Deferred Consideration
Balance at December 31, 2012	$	2,304
Accretion for 2013	384
Payments made in 2013	(1,344		)
Balance at December 31, 2013	1,344
Payments made from January 1, 2014 – September 30, 2014	(1,344		)
Balance at September 30, 2014	$	—


5.	FAIR VALUE — (CONTINUED)

Prior to December 31, 2013, the Company used a discounted cash flow model to determine the estimated fair value of its Level 3 liabilities. The assumptions used in preparing the discounted cash flow model included the discount rate and probabilities for completion of financial and operational milestones. The only significant unobservable input in the discounted cash flow model used to determine the estimated fair value of the Company's Level 3 liabilities was the discount rate. The discount rate used represented LoopNet's cost of equity at the time of each acquisition plus a margin for counterparty risk. As of December 31, 2013, the Company recorded a liability for the entire amount of undiscounted deferred consideration paid on March 31, 2014.

Concentration of Credit Risk and Financial Instruments

The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ financial condition and generally does not require that its customers’ obligations to the Company be secured. The Company maintains reserves for estimated inherent credit losses, and such losses have been within management’s expectations. The large size and widespread nature of the Company’s customer base and the Company’s lack of dependence on any individual customer mitigates the risk of nonpayment of the Company’s accounts receivable. The carrying amount of the accounts receivable approximates the net realizable value. The carrying value of accounts receivable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, and long-term debt approximates fair value.