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Note 19
 3 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2012
Equity Method Investments Disclosure [Text Block]
19.  We enter into homebuilding and land development joint ventures from time to time as a means of accessing lot positions, expanding our market opportunities, establishing strategic alliances, managing our risk profile, leveraging our capital base and enhancing returns on capital.  Our homebuilding joint ventures are generally entered into with third-party investors to develop land and construct homes that are sold directly to third-party homebuyers.  Our land development joint ventures include those entered into with developers and other homebuilders as well as financial investors to develop finished lots for sale to the joint venture’s members or other third parties.

During the three months ended January 31, 2011, we entered into a joint venture agreement to acquire a portfolio of homebuilding projects, including land we previously owned in the consolidated group. We sold the land we owned to the joint venture for net proceeds of $36.1 million, which was equal to our basis in the land at that time, and recorded an investment in unconsolidated joint ventures of $19.7 million for our interest in the venture.  Separately, during the three months ended January 31, 2011, our partner in a land development joint venture transferred its interest in the venture to us.  The consolidation resulted in increases in inventory and non-recourse land mortgages of $9.5 million and $18.5 million, respectively, and a decrease in other liabilities of $9.0 million.

The tables set forth below summarize the combined financial information related to our unconsolidated homebuilding and land development joint ventures that are accounted for under the equity method.

(Dollars in thousands)
  January 31, 2012  
   
Homebuilding
   
Land Development
   
Total
 
Assets:
                 
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 18,106     $ 774     $ 18,880  
Inventories
    303,255       14,816       318,071  
Other assets
    23,544       705       24,249  
Total assets
  $ 344,905     $ 16,295     $ 361,200  
                         
Liabilities and equity:
                       
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
  $ 24,646     $ 12,383     $ 37,029  
Notes payable
    188,267       21       188,288  
Total liabilities
  $ 212,913     $ 12,404     $ 225,317  
Equity of:
                       
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.
    51,421       977       52,398  
Others
    80,571       2,914       83,485  
Total equity
    131,992       3,891       135,883  
Total liabilities and equity
  $ 344,905     $ 16,295     $ 361,200  
Debt to capitalization ratio
    59 %     1 %     58 %

(Dollars in thousands)
  October 31, 2011  
   
Homebuilding
   
Land Development
   
Total
 
Assets:
                 
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 21,380     $ 287     $ 21,667  
Inventories
    310,743       14,786       325,529  
Other assets
    25,388       -       25,388  
Total assets
  $ 357,511     $ 15,073     $ 372,584  
                         
Liabilities and equity:
                       
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities
  $ 21,035     $ 11,710     $ 32,745  
Notes payable
    199,821       21       199,842  
Total liabilities
    220,856       11,731       232,587  
Equity of:
                       
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc.
    52,013       1,312       53,325  
Others
    84,642       2,030       86,672  
Total equity
    136,655       3,342       139,997  
Total liabilities and equity
  $ 357,511     $ 15,073     $ 372,584  
Debt to capitalization ratio
    59 %     1 %     59 %

As of January 31, 2012 and October 31, 2011, we had advances outstanding of approximately $13.6 million and $11.7 million, respectively, to these unconsolidated joint ventures, which were included in the “Accounts payable and accrued liabilities” balances in the table above.  On our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets our “Investments in and advances to unconsolidated joint ventures” amounted to $58.8 million and $57.8 million at January 31, 2012 and October 31, 2011, respectively.  In some cases, our net investment in these joint ventures is less than our proportionate share of the equity reflected in the table above because of the differences between asset impairments recorded against our joint venture investments and any impairments recorded in the applicable joint venture.  Impairments of our joint venture equity investments are recorded when we deem a decline in fair value to be other than temporary while impairments recorded in the joint ventures are recorded when undiscounted cash flows of the community indicate that the carrying amount is not recoverable.  During fiscal 2011 and the first three months of fiscal 2012, we did not write down any joint venture investments based on our determination that none of the investments in our joint ventures sustained an other than temporary impairment during those periods.

   
For the Three Months Ended January 31, 2012
 
(In thousands)
 
Homebuilding
   
Land Development
   
Total
 
                   
Revenues
  $ 52,596     $ 3,355     $ 55,951  
Cost of sales and expenses
    (52,770 )     (3,203 )     (55,973 )
Joint venture net (loss) income
  $ (174 )   $ 152     $ (22 )
Our share of net (loss) income
  $ (51 )   $ 116     $ 65  

   
For the Three Months Ended January 31, 2011
 
(In thousands)
 
Homebuilding
   
Land Development
   
Total
 
                   
Revenues
  $ 23,031     $ 4,894     $ 27,925  
Cost of sales and expenses
    (24,905 )     (4,739 )     (29,644 )
Joint venture net (loss) income
  $ (1,874 )   $ 155     $ (1,719 )
Our share of net (loss) income
  $ (1,002 )   $ 143     $ (859 )

“(Loss) income from unconsolidated joint ventures” is reflected as a separate line in the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and reflects our proportionate share of the loss or income of these unconsolidated homebuilding and land development joint ventures.  The difference between our share of the loss or income from these unconsolidated joint ventures disclosed in the tables above compared to the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three months ended January 31, 2012 and 2011, is due primarily to one joint venture that had net income for which we do not get any share of the profit because of the cumulative equity position of the joint venture, the reclassification of the intercompany portion of management fee income from certain joint ventures, and the deferral of income for lots purchased by us from certain joint ventures.

In determining whether or not we must consolidate joint ventures where we are the manager of the joint venture, we assess whether the other partners have specific rights to overcome the presumption of control by us as the manager of the joint venture.  In most cases, the presumption is overcome because the joint venture agreements require that both partners agree on establishing the operations and capital decisions of the partnership, including budgets in the ordinary course of business.

Typically, our unconsolidated joint ventures obtain separate project specific mortgage financing. The amount of financing is generally targeted to be no more than 50% of the joint venture’s total assets.  For our more recent joint ventures, obtaining financing has become challenging, therefore, some of our joint ventures are capitalized only with equity. However, for our most recent joint venture, a portion of our partner's contribution was in the form of mortgage financing. Including the impact of impairments recorded by the joint ventures, the average debt to capitalization ratio of all our joint ventures is currently 58%. Any joint venture financing is on a nonrecourse basis, with guarantees from us limited only to performance and completion of development, environmental warranties and indemnification, standard indemnification for fraud, misrepresentation and other similar actions, including a voluntary bankruptcy filing.  In some instances, the joint venture entity is considered a VIE under ASC 810-10 "Consolidation – Overall" due to the returns being capped to the equity holders; however, in these instances, we are not the primary beneficiary, and therefore we do not consolidate these entities.