Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

8.	Financial Instruments and Fair Value Measurements

The following methods and assumptions were used by the Company in estimating fair value disclosures of financial instruments:

Other Fair Value Instruments

Investments in unconsolidated joint ventures are considered financial assets. See discussion of fair value considerations of joint venture investments in Note 12.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities

The carrying amounts reported in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets for these financial instruments approximated fair value because of their short-term maturities.

Notes Receivable and Advances to Affiliates

The fair value is estimated using a discounted cash flow analysis in which the Company uses unobservable inputs such as market interest rates determined by the loan to value and market capitalization rates related to the underlying collateral at which management believes similar loans would be made and classified as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The fair value of these notes was approximately $299.0 million and $445.2 million at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively, as compared to the carrying amounts of $297.9 million and $443.3 million, respectively.

Debt

The fair market value of senior notes is determined using the trading price of the Company’s public debt. The fair market value for all other debt is estimated using a discounted cash flow technique that incorporates future contractual interest and principal payments and a market interest yield curve with adjustments for duration, optionality and risk profile, including the Company’s non-performance risk and loan to value. The Company’s senior notes and all other debt are classified as Level 2 and Level 3, respectively, in the fair value hierarchy.

Considerable judgment is necessary to develop estimated fair values of financial instruments. Accordingly, the estimates presented are not necessarily indicative of the amounts the Company could realize on disposition of the financial instruments.

Debt instruments with carrying values that are different than estimated fair values are summarized as follows (in thousands):

	December 31, 2017				December 31, 2016
	Carrying Amount		Fair Value		Carrying Amount		Fair Value
Senior Notes	$	2,810,100	$	2,884,272	$	2,913,217	$	3,009,232
Revolving Credit Facilities and term loans		398,130		400,119		598,242		600,050
Mortgage Indebtedness		641,082		653,185		982,509		1,009,884
	$	3,849,312	$	3,937,576	$	4,493,968	$	4,619,166

- 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.

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