Product Warranties

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

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 the Company’s 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 months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2012			2011
Warranty reserve, beginning of period	$	64,008		$	69,787
Provision		6,415			3,732
Payments		(10,137	)		(8,189	)
Warranty reserve, end of period	$	60,286		$	65,330