Fair Values of Financial Instruments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

FASB Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 820, "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures" ("ASC 820"), defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. ASC 820 also provides guidance for using fair value to measure financial assets and liabilities. ASC 820 requires disclosure of the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the fair value measurements fall, including measurements using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1), quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets or quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active (Level 2), and significant valuation assumptions that are not readily observable in the market (Level 3). A summary of the carrying amount and fair value of the Company's financial assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 are as follows (in thousands):



	As of March 31, 2014				As of December 31, 2013
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Financial Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	152,236	$	152,236	$	58,678	$	58,678
Mortgage loan	3,481		3,481		3,502		3,502
Interest rate swap agreements	1,809		1,809		2,021		2,021
Financial Liabilities:
Mortgage notes payable	$	1,093,428	$	1,058,279	$	1,097,493	$	1,062,648
Notes payable to banks	245,000		243,288		303,000		302,393
Interest rate swap agreements	8,202		8,202		8,429		8,429

The methods and assumptions used to estimate fair value for each class of financial asset or liability are discussed below:

Cash and cash equivalents: The carrying amounts for cash and cash equivalents approximate fair value.

Mortgage loan: The carrying amount for mortgage loan approximates fair value.

Mortgage notes payable: The fair value of mortgage notes payable is estimated using discounted cash flow analysis, based on the Company's current incremental borrowing rates for similar types of borrowing arrangements. This information is considered a Level 2 input as defined by ASC 820.

Notes payable to banks: The fair value of the Company's notes payable to banks is estimated by discounting expected cash flows at current market rates. This information is considered a Level 2 input as defined by ASC 820.

Interest rate swap agreements: The fair value of the interest rate swaps is determined by estimating the expected cash flows over the life of the swap using the mid-market rate and price environment as of the last trading day of the reporting period. This information is considered a Level 2 input as defined by ASC 820.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References+ Details