Note 16

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2011

Segment Reporting Disclosure [Text Block]

16.  Our operating segments are components of our business for which discrete financial information is available and reviewed regularly by the chief operating decision-maker, our Chief Executive Officer, to evaluate performance and make operating decisions.  Based on this criteria, each of our communities qualifies as an operating segment, and therefore, it is impractical to provide segment disclosures for this many segments.  As such, we have aggregated the homebuilding operating segments into six reportable segments.

Our homebuilding operating segments are aggregated into reportable segments based primarily upon geographic proximity, similar regulatory environments, land acquisition characteristics and similar methods used to construct and sell homes.  The Company’s reportable segments consist of the following six homebuilding segments and a financial services segment:

Homebuilding:

 (1) Northeast (New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania)

 (2) Mid-Atlantic (Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C,  and West Virginia)

 (3) Midwest (Illinois, Minnesota, and Ohio)

 (4) Southeast (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina)

 (5) Southwest (Arizona and Texas)

 (6) West (California)

Financial Services

Operations of the Company’s Homebuilding segments primarily include the sale and construction of single-family attached and detached homes, attached townhomes and condominiums, mid-rise condominiums, urban infill and active adult homes in planned residential developments.  In addition, from time to time, operations of the homebuilding segments include sales of land.  Operations of the Company’s Financial Services segment include mortgage banking and title services provided to the homebuilding operations’ customers.  We do not retain or service mortgages that we originate but rather sell the mortgages and related servicing rights to investors.

Corporate and unallocated primarily represents operations at our headquarters in Red Bank, New Jersey.  This includes our executive offices, information services, human resources, corporate accounting, training, treasury, process redesign, internal audit, construction services, and administration of insurance, quality, and safety.  It also includes interest income and interest expense resulting from interest incurred that cannot be capitalized in inventory in the Homebuilding segments, as well as the gains or losses on extinguishment of debt from debt repurchases or exchanges.

Evaluation of segment performance is based primarily on operating earnings from continuing operations before provision for income taxes (“(Loss) income before income taxes”).  (Loss) income before income taxes for the Homebuilding segments consists of revenues generated from the sales of homes and land, (loss) income from unconsolidated entities, management fees and other income, less the cost of homes and land sold, selling, general and administrative expenses, interest expense and non-controlling interest expense.  Income before income taxes for the Financial Services segment consists of revenues generated from mortgage financing, title insurance and closing services, less the cost of such services and certain selling, general and administrative expenses and interest expenses incurred by the Financial Services segment.

Operational results of each segment are not necessarily indicative of the results that would have occurred had the segment been an independent stand-alone entity during the periods presented.

Financial information relating to the Company’s segment operations was as follows:

	Three Months Ended						Nine Months Ended
	July 31,						July 31,
(In thousands)	2011			2010			2011			2010
Revenues:
Northeast	$	44,051		$	92,179		$	126,035		$	218,686
Mid-Atlantic		57,338			72,876			150,600			207,615
Midwest		17,721			24,437			49,295			63,986
Southeast		18,038			28,843			50,476			76,003
Southwest		108,188			103,597			298,829			289,968
West		32,423			49,966			97,896			138,936
Total homebuilding		277,759			371,898			773,131			995,194
Financial services		7,850			8,753			20,249			23,418
Corporate and unallocated		9			(51	)		(98	)		218
Total revenues	$	285,618		$	380,600		$	793,282		$	1,018,830
(Loss) income before income taxes:
Northeast	$	(8,400	)	$	(15,510	)	$	(43,124	)	$	(30,281	)
Mid-Atlantic		(4,816	)		3,248			(13,805	)		5,369
Midwest		(2,893	)		(1,190	)		(7,226	)		(7,215	)
Southeast		(4,017	)		(1,352	)		(10,697	)		(6,307	)
Southwest		7,577			7,033			19,449			17,969
West		(6,151	)		(39,070	)		(23,159	)		(49,477	)
Homebuilding loss         before income taxes		(18,700	)		(46,841	)		(78,562	)		(69,942	)
Financial services		2,303			2,585			4,055			6,224
Corporate and unallocated		(39,178	)		(35,586	)		(119,313	)		(99,072	)
Loss before income taxes	$	(55,575	)	$	(79,842	)	$	(193,820	)	$	(162,790	)

	As of		As of
	July 31,		October 31,
(In thousands)	2011		2010
Assets:
Northeast	$	460,490	$	456,544
Mid-Atlantic		205,175		177,503
Midwest		55,439		47,818
Southeast		79,959		58,765
Southwest		202,031		206,001
West		170,658		195,808
Total homebuilding		1,173,752		1,142,439
Financial services		68,686		101,795
Corporate and unallocated		455,322		573,326
Total assets	$	1,697,760	$	1,817,560