CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (unaudited) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Oct. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016
Real estate investments
Property owned	$ 1,665,354	$ 1,681,471
Less accumulated depreciation	(321,790)	(312,889)
Total property owned	1,343,564	1,368,582
Development in progress	20,921	51,681
Unimproved land	19,069	20,939
Total real estate investments	1,383,554	1,441,202
Other assets
Assets held for sale and assets of discontinued operations	191,233	220,537
Cash and cash equivalents	68,729	66,698
Other investments		50
Receivable arising from straight-lining of rents, net of allowance of $299 and $333, respectively	7,660	7,179
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $192 and $97, respectively	9,815	1,524
Real estate deposits	1,370
Prepaid and other assets	3,496	2,937
Intangible assets, net of accumulated amortization of $5,261 and $6,230, respectively	842	1,858
Tax, insurance, and other escrow	4,786	5,450
Property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of $1,051 and $1,058, respectively	928	1,011
Goodwill	1,645	1,680
Deferred charges and leasing costs, net of accumulated amortization of $3,603 and $3,719, respectively	5,261	4,896
TOTAL ASSETS	1,679,319	1,755,022
LIABILITIES
Liabilities held for sale and liabilities of discontinued operations	69,326	77,488
Accounts payable and accrued expenses	40,382	39,727
Revolving line of credit	47,500	17,500
Mortgages payable, net of unamortized loan costs of $4,222 and $4,931, respectively	779,568	812,393
Construction debt and other	82,742	82,130
TOTAL LIABILITIES	1,019,518	1,029,238
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (NOTE 6)
REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS - CONSOLIDATED REAL ESTATE ENTITIES	8,585	7,522
Investors Real Estate Trust shareholders' equity
Common Shares of Beneficial Interest (Unlimited authorization, no par value, 121,701,433 shares issued and outstanding at October 31, 2016, and 121,091,249 shares issued and outstanding at April 30, 2016)	920,759	922,084
Accumulated distributions in excess of net income	(489,356)	(442,000)
Total Investors Real Estate Trust shareholders' equity	570,077	618,758
Noncontrolling interests – Operating Partnership (16,228,507 units at October 31, 2016 and 16,285,239 units at April 30, 2016)	71,994	78,484
Noncontrolling interests - consolidated real estate entities	9,145	21,020
Total equity	651,216	718,262
TOTAL LIABILITIES, REDEEMABLE NONCONTROLLING INTERESTS AND EQUITY	1,679,319	1,755,022
Series A Preferred Stock [Member]
Investors Real Estate Trust shareholders' equity
Preferred Shares of Beneficial Interest (Cumulative redeemable preferred shares)	27,317	27,317
Series B Preferred Stock [Member]
Investors Real Estate Trust shareholders' equity
Preferred Shares of Beneficial Interest (Cumulative redeemable preferred shares)	$ 111,357	$ 111,357