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Inventory And Land Held For Sale
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]  
Inventory and land held for sale Inventory and land held for sale
Major components of inventory at December 31, 2020 and 2019 were ($000’s omitted):
20202019
Homes under construction$3,086,740 $2,899,016 
Land under development4,137,318 4,347,107 
Raw land497,740 434,491 
$7,721,798 $7,680,614 

In all periods presented, we capitalized all Homebuilding interest costs into inventory because the level of our active inventory exceeded our debt levels. Activity related to interest capitalized into inventory is as follows ($000’s omitted):
 Years Ended December 31,
 202020192018
Interest in inventory, beginning of period$210,383 $227,495 $226,611 
Interest capitalized159,575 164,114 172,809 
Interest expensed(176,549)(181,226)(171,925)
Interest in inventory, end of period$193,409 $210,383 $227,495 

Land-related charges

We recorded the following land-related charges ($000's omitted):
Statement of Operations Classification202020192018
Net realizable value adjustments ("NRV") - land held for saleLand sale and other cost of revenues$871 $5,368 $11,489 
Land impairmentsHome sale cost of revenues7,044 8,617 70,965 
Write-offs of deposits and pre-acquisition costsOther expense, net12,390 13,116 16,992 
Total land-related charges$20,305 $27,101 $99,446 

Land-related charges have not been a significant broad-based issue since the U.S. housing recovery began in 2012. However, we experienced changes to facts and circumstances related to specific individual communities in 2018 that elevated such charges.

Land impairments relate to communities that are either active or that we intend to eventually open and build out. On a quarterly basis, we review each of our land positions for potential indicators of impairment and perform detailed impairment calculations for communities that display indicators of potential impairment.

In 2020 and 2019, we recorded impairment charges of $7.0 million and $8.6 million, respectively, relating to a number of communities where we experienced slower sales paces and lower average selling prices.

In 2018, we received an unfavorable determination related to one of our communities that had been idle while pursuing entitlements for over 10 years. This unfavorable determination caused a significant reduction in the number of lots and
necessitated certain changes to the expected product offering and land development that, combined with rising costs and a softening in demand in the applicable local market, resulted in an impairment of $59.2 million. Impairments for all other communities in 2018 totaled $11.8 million.

We determine the fair value of a community's inventory using a combination of discounted cash flow models and market comparable transactions, where available. These estimated cash flows are significantly impacted by estimates related to expected average selling prices, expected sales paces, expected land development and construction timelines, and anticipated land development, construction, and overhead costs. The assumptions used in the cash flow models are specific to each community and typically do not assume improvements in market conditions in the near term. The discount rate used in determining each community's fair value depends on the stage of development of the community and other specific factors that increase or decrease the inherent risks associated with the community's cash flow streams. Accordingly, determining the fair value of a community's inventory involves a number of variables, many of which are interrelated. The table below summarizes certain quantitative unobservable inputs utilized in determining the fair value of impaired communities ($000's omitted):

 
Communities ImpairedFair Value of Communities Impaired, Net of Impairment ChargesImpairment ChargesAverage Selling PriceQuarterly Sales Pace (homes)Discount Rate
2020$15,641 $7,044 
$305 to $878
2 to 6
13% to 17%
2019$10,702 $8,617 
$284 to $550
1 to 6
12% to 14%
2018$24,062 $70,695 
$287 to $586
2 to 11
12% to 22%

Our evaluations for impairments are based on our best estimates of the future cash flows for our communities. Due to uncertainties in the estimation process, the significant volatility in demand for new housing, the long life cycles of certain of our communities, and potential changes in our strategy related to certain communities, actual results could differ significantly from such estimates.