Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

General The accompanying unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP), with intercompany transactions between consolidated subsidiaries eliminated. In accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X as issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), these Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements do not include all of the information and disclosures required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Readers of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report) should refer to The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC or the Company) audited Consolidated Financial Statements, which are included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2022 (the Annual Report). In the opinion of management, all normal recurring adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position, results of operations, comprehensive income, cash flows and equity for the interim periods have been included. The results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2022, and future fiscal years.

Certain amounts in the 2021 Condensed Consolidated Income Statement have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation. Specifically, the Company reclassified Demolition costs and Development-related marketing costs to Other within Total expenses.

Management has evaluated for disclosure or recognition all material events occurring subsequent to the date of the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements up to the date and time this Quarterly Report was filed.

Restricted Cash Restricted cash reflects amounts segregated in escrow accounts in the name of the Company, primarily related to escrowed condominium deposits by buyers and other amounts related to taxes, insurance and legally restricted security deposits and leasing costs.

COVID-19 Pandemic The outbreak of COVID-19 resulted in a negative impact on the Company’s financial performance in 2020, particularly in the Operating Asset and Seaport segments. However, the Company experienced significant performance improvement during the second half of 2020 that continued through 2021, with full-year 2021 segment results equaling or exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the majority of the Company’s segments. The Company has not experienced material adverse effects related to COVID-19 in 2022.

Accounts Receivable, net On a quarterly basis, management reviews tenant rents, tenant recoveries and straight-line rent assets for collectability. As required under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 842 - Leases, this analysis includes a review of past due accounts and considers factors such as the credit quality of tenants, current economic conditions and changes in customer payment trends. When full collection of a lease receivable or future lease payment is deemed to be not probable, a reserve for the receivable balance is charged against rental revenue and future rental revenue is recognized on a cash basis. The Company also records reserves for estimated losses under ASC 450 - Contingencies if the estimated loss amount is probable and can be reasonably estimated.

The following table represents the components of Accounts Receivable, net of amounts considered uncollectible, in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets:

thousands	September 30, 2022		December 31, 2021
Straight-line rent receivables	$	79,382	$	72,461
Tenant receivables	9,719		8,647
Other receivables	6,263		5,280
Accounts receivable, net (a)	$	95,364	$	86,388

(a)As of September 30, 2022, the total reserve balance for amounts considered uncollectible was $10.8 million, comprised of $4.9 million related to ASC 842 and $5.9 million related to ASC 450. As of December 31, 2021, the total reserve balance was $16.5 million, comprised of $11.5 million related to ASC 842 and $5.0 million related to ASC 450.

The following table summarizes the impacts of the ASC 842 and ASC 450 reserves in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations:

		Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
thousands	Income Statement Location	2022		2021		2022		2021
ASC 842 reserve	Rental revenue	$	275	$	(610)	$	(3,762)	$	751
ASC 450 reserve	Provision for (recovery of) doubtful accounts	106		154		2,238		(1,944)
Total impact		$	381	$	(456)	$	(1,524)	$	(1,193)

Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. The estimates and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the allocation of capitalized development costs, provision for income taxes, recoverable amounts of receivables and deferred tax assets, initial valuations of tangible and intangible assets acquired and the related useful lives of assets upon which depreciation and amortization is based. Estimates and assumptions have also been made with respect to future revenues and costs, debt and options granted. In particular, Master Planned Communities (MPC) cost of sales estimates are highly judgmental, covering significant future time horizons and are sensitive to cost escalation, sales price escalation and lot absorption, which are affected by expectations about future market or economic conditions. Actual results could differ from these and other estimates. In addition, these estimates may change in the near term due to the continued demands and constraints on the Company’s supply chain.

Noncontrolling Interests As of September 30, 2022, noncontrolling interests primarily related to the 12.0% noncontrolling interest in Teravalis and the noncontrolling interest in the Ward Village Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs). Refer to Note 3 - Acquisitions and Dispositions for additional information on Teravalis. As of December 31, 2021, noncontrolling interests primarily related to the Ward Village HOAs. All revenues and expenses related to the HOAs are attributable to noncontrolling interests and do not impact net income attributable to common stockholders. For additional information on redeemable noncontrolling interest refer to Note 2 - Investment in Real Estate and Other Affiliates.

Financial Instruments - Credit Losses The Company is exposed to credit losses through the sale of goods and services to the Company’s customers. Receivables held by the Company primarily relate to short-term trade receivables and financing receivables, which include Municipal Utility District (MUD) receivables, Special Improvement District (SID) bonds, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) receivables, net investments in lease receivables, and notes receivable. The Company assesses its exposure to credit loss based on historical collection experience and future expectations by portfolio segment. Historical collection experience is evaluated on a quarterly basis by the Company.

The amortized cost basis of financing receivables, consisting primarily of MUD receivables, totaled $589.4 million as of September 30, 2022, and $484.7 million as of December 31, 2021. The MUD receivable balance included accrued interest of $42.0 million as of September 30, 2022, and $18.2 million as of December 31, 2021. There has been no material activity in the allowance for credit losses for financing receivables for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, and 2021.

Financing receivables are considered to be past due once they are 30 days contractually past due under the terms of the agreement. The Company does not have significant receivables that are past due or on nonaccrual status. There have been no significant write-offs or recoveries of amounts previously written off during the current period for financing receivables.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards The following is a summary of recently issued accounting pronouncements which relate to the Company’s business.

ASU 2020-04, Reference Rate Reform The amendments in this update provide optional expedients and exceptions for applying GAAP to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform when certain criteria are met. The amendments in this update apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform. The expedients and exceptions provided by the amendments do not apply to contract modifications made and hedging relationships entered into or evaluated after December 31, 2022, except for hedging relationships existing as of December 31, 2022, for which an entity has applied certain optional expedients that are retained through the end of the hedging relationship. The amendments in this update are effective as of March 12, 2020, through December 31, 2022. The guidance in Accounting Standards update (ASU) 2020-04 is optional and may be elected over time as reference rate reform activities occur. In addition to certain hedge accounting expedients elected during the first quarter of 2020, the Company continues to evaluate the impact of the guidance and may apply other elections as applicable as additional changes in the market occur.