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Product Warranties
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011
Product Warranties [Abstract]  
Product Warranties
8. Product Warranties
     The Company establishes warranty and product liability reserves (“warranty reserve”) to provide for estimated future expenses as a result of construction and product defects, product recalls and litigation incidental to NVR’s homebuilding business. Liability estimates are determined based on management’s judgment, considering such factors as historical experience, the likely current cost of corrective action, manufacturers’ and subcontractors’ participation in sharing the cost of corrective action, consultations with third party experts such as engineers, and discussions with our general counsel and outside counsel retained to handle specific product liability cases. The following table reflects the changes in the Company’s warranty reserve during the three and six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010:
                                 
    Three Months Ended June 30,     Six Months Ended June 30,  
    2011     2010     2011     2010  
Warranty reserve, beginning of period
  $ 65,330     $ 65,082     $ 69,787     $ 64,417  
Provision
    8,041       14,452       11,773       22,673  
Payments
    (10,567 )     (9,353 )     (18,756 )     (16,909 )
 
                       
Warranty reserve, end of period
  $ 62,804     $ 70,181     $ 62,804     $ 70,181