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Inventory | 6 Months Ended
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Mar. 31, 2020
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract] |
Inventory | Inventory The components of our owned inventory are as follows as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019:
in thousands | March 31, 2020 |  | September 30, 2019
Homes under construction | $ | 634,380 |  |  | $ | 507,542 |
Development projects in progress | 706,691 |  |  | 738,201 |
Land held for future development | 28,531 |  |  | 28,531 |
Land held for sale | 10,716 |  |  | 12,662 |
Capitalized interest | 134,693 |  |  | 136,565 |
Model homes | 80,289 |  |  | 80,747 |
Total owned inventory | $ | 1,595,300 |  |  | $ | 1,504,248 |
Homes under construction include homes substantially finished and ready for delivery and homes in various stages of construction, including the cost of the underlying lot. We had 243 (with a cost of $80.5 million) and 238 (with a cost of $82.2 million) substantially completed homes that were not subject to a sales contract (spec homes) as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019, respectively. Development projects in progress consist principally of land acquisition, land development and other common costs. These land related costs are allocated to individual lots on a pro-rata basis, and the lot costs are transferred to homes under construction when home construction begins for the respective lots. Certain of the fully developed lots in this category are reserved by a customer deposit or sales contract. Land held for future development consists of communities for which construction and development activities are expected to occur in the future or have been idled and are stated at cost unless facts and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. All applicable interest and real estate taxes on land held for future development are expensed as incurred. Land held for sale includes land and lots that do not fit within our homebuilding programs and strategic plans in certain markets, and land is classified as held for sale once certain criteria are met (refer to Note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements within our 2019 Annual Report). These assets are recorded at the lower of the carrying value or fair value less costs to sell. The amount of interest we are able to capitalize depends on our qualified inventory balance, which considers the status of our inventory holdings. Our qualified inventory balance includes the majority of our homes under construction and development projects in progress but excludes land held for future development and land held for sale (see Note 6 for additional information on capitalized interest).
Total owned inventory by reportable segment is presented in the table below as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019:
in thousands | Projects in Progress (a) |  | Land Held for Future Development |  | Land Held for Sale |  | Total Owned Inventory
March 31, 2020 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
West Segment | $ | 747,692 |  |  | $ | 3,483 |  |  | $ | 4,153 |  |  | $ | 755,328 |
East Segment | 279,900 |  |  | 14,077 |  |  | 3,166 |  |  | 297,143 |
Southeast Segment | 332,548 |  |  | 10,971 |  |  | 3,397 |  |  | 346,916 |
Corporate and unallocated (b) | 195,913 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 195,913 |
Total | $ | 1,556,053 |  |  | $ | 28,531 |  |  | $ | 10,716 |  |  | $ | 1,595,300 |
September 30, 2019 |  |  |  |  |  |  |
West Segment | $ | 723,094 |  |  | $ | 3,483 |  |  | $ | 5,160 |  |  | $ | 731,737 |
East Segment | 228,937 |  |  | 14,077 |  |  | 4,104 |  |  | 247,118 |
Southeast Segment | 318,737 |  |  | 10,971 |  |  | 3,398 |  |  | 333,106 |
Corporate and unallocated (b) | 192,287 |  |  | — |  |  | — |  |  | 192,287 |
Total | $ | 1,463,055 |  |  | $ | 28,531 |  |  | $ | 12,662 |  |  | $ | 1,504,248 |
(a) Projects in progress include homes under construction, development projects in progress, capitalized interest, and model home categories from the preceding table. (b) Projects in progress amount includes capitalized interest and indirect costs that are maintained within our Corporate and unallocated segment. Inventory Impairments When conducting our community level review for the recoverability of inventory related to projects in progress, we establish a quarterly “watch list” comprised of communities that carry profit margins in backlog or in our forecast that are below a minimum threshold of profitability, as well as recent closings that have gross margins less than a specified threshold. Each community is first evaluated qualitatively to determine if there are temporary factors driving the low profitability levels. Following our qualitative evaluation, communities with more than ten homes remaining to close are subjected to additional financial and operational review that considers the competitive environment and other factors contributing to gross margins below our watch list threshold. Our assumptions about future home sales prices and absorption rates require significant judgment because the residential homebuilding industry is cyclical and is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions. For certain communities, it may be prudent to reduce sales prices or further increase sales incentives in response to a variety of factors, including competitive market conditions in those specific submarkets for the product and locations of these communities. For communities where the current competitive and market dynamics indicate that assets may not be recoverable, a formal impairment analysis is performed. The formal impairment analysis consists of both qualitative considerations and quantitative analyses reflecting market and asset specific information. As discussed in Note 2 and Note 18, the unprecedented macro-economic events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic have caused significant disruptions to the United States and global economies. The Company has experienced increasingly adverse business conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a slowdown in customer traffic and sales pace and an increase in cancellations. When conducting our community level review for the recoverability of inventory, we considered the current and expected future impact of COVID-19 on market conditions and our operations. As of March 31, 2020 and taking into consideration the factors discussed above, we identified three communities on our quarterly watch list. No impairment charges were recognized upon analyzing the relevant qualitative and quantitative factors. However, because the full magnitude and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic is uncertain and difficult to predict, changes in our cash flow projections may change our conclusions on the recoverability of inventory in the future. As of March 31, 2019, there were twelve communities on our quarterly watch list that required further analysis to be performed after considering the lots remaining in each community and certain other qualitative factors. This additional analysis led to a $109.0 million impairment charge for nine of these communities, principally due to a reduction in price that is other than temporary based on competitive and market dynamics. Concurrently, we performed a strategic review of our remaining land held for future development assets in California and determined to sell these parcels. As a consequence of change in strategy with respect to the future use of these assets, we recognized land held for sale impairments totaling $38.6 million for six communities. Impairments on land held for sale generally represent write downs of these properties to net realizable value and are based on current market conditions and our review of recent comparable transactions. Our assumptions related to land sales prices require significant judgment because the real estate market is highly sensitive to changes in economic conditions, and our estimates of sale prices could differ significantly from actual results. From time-to-time, we also determine that the proper course of action with respect to a community is to not exercise an option and to write off the deposit securing the option takedown and the related pre-acquisition costs, as applicable. In determining whether to abandon lots or lot option contracts, our evaluation is primarily based upon the expected cash flows from the property. Additionally, in certain limited instances, we are forced to abandon lots due to permitting or other regulatory issues that do not allow us to build on those lots. If we intend to abandon or walk away from a property, we record a charge to earnings for the deposit amount and any related capitalized costs in the period such decision is made. Abandonment charges generally relate to our decision to abandon lots or not exercise certain option contracts that are not projected to produce adequate results, no longer fit with our long-term strategic plan or, in limited circumstances, are not suitable for building due to regulatory or environmental restrictions that are enacted. Lot Option Agreements and Variable Interest Entities (VIE) As previously discussed, we also have access to land inventory through lot option contracts, which generally enable us to defer acquiring portions of properties owned by third parties and unconsolidated entities until we have determined whether to exercise our lot option. The majority of our lot option contracts require a non-refundable cash deposit or irrevocable letter of credit based on a percentage of the purchase price of the land for the right to acquire lots during a specified period of time at a specified price. Under lot option contracts, purchase of the properties is contingent upon satisfaction of certain requirements by us and the sellers. Our liability under option contracts is generally limited to forfeiture of the non-refundable deposits, letters of credit, and other non-refundable amounts incurred. We expect to exercise, subject to market conditions and seller satisfaction of contract terms, most of our remaining option contracts. Various factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as market conditions, weather conditions, and the timing of the completion of development activities, will have a significant impact on the timing of option exercises or whether lot options will be exercised at all. The following table provides a summary of our interests in lot option agreements as of March 31, 2020 and September 30, 2019:
in thousands | Deposits & Non-refundable Pre-acquisition Costs Incurred |  | Remaining Obligation
As of March 31, 2020 |  |  |
Unconsolidated lot option agreements | $ | 67,557 |  |  | $ | 382,412 |
As of September 30, 2019 |  |  |
Unconsolidated lot option agreements | $ | 78,202 |  |  | $ | 389,705 |

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- Definition The entire disclosure for inventory. Includes, but is not limited to, the basis of stating inventory, the method of determining inventory cost, the classes of inventory, and the nature of the cost elements included in inventory. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 330 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2126998 + Details
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