Note 8 - Mortgages and Notes Payable	12 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2013
Line Of Credit [Abstract]
Line Of Credit [Text Block]	8. Mortgages and Notes Payable We have nonrecourse mortgages for a small number of our communities totaling $62.9 million, as well as our Corporate Headquarters totaling $17.7 million, at October 31, 2013, which are secured by the related real property and any improvements. These loans have installment obligations with annual principal maturities in the years ending October 31 of approximately: $63.9 million in 2014, $1.2 million in 2015, $1.3 million in 2016, $1.4 million in 2017, $1.5 million in 2018 and $11.3 million after 2018. The interest rates on these obligations range from 4.0% to 8.8% at October 31, 2013. In June 2013, K. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (“K. Hovnanian”), as borrower, and we and certain of our subsidiaries, as guarantors, entered into a five-year $75 million unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with Citicorp USA, Inc., as administrative agent and issuing bank, and Citibank, N.A., as a lender. The Credit Facility is available for both letters of credit and general corporate purposes. The Credit Facility does not contain any financial maintenance covenants, but does contain certain restrictive covenants that track those contained in our indenture governing the First Lien Notes (as defined below in Note 9), which are described in Note 9. The Credit Facility also contains certain customary events of default which would permit the administrative agent at the request of the required lenders to, among other things, declare all loans then outstanding to be immediately due and payable if not cured within applicable grace periods, including the failure to make timely payments of amounts payable under the Credit Facility or other material indebtedness or the acceleration of other material indebtedness, the failure to comply with agreements and covenants or for representations or warranties to be correct in all material respects when made, specified events of bankruptcy and insolvency, and the entry of a material judgment against a loan party. Outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility accrue interest at an annual rate equal to either, as selected by K. Hovnanian, (i) the alternate base rate plus the applicable spread determined on the date of such borrowing or (ii) an adjusted LIBOR rate plus the applicable spread determined as of the date two business days prior to the first day of the interest period for such borrowing. As of October 31, 2013, there were no borrowings and $25.8 million of letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facility and as of such date, we believe we were in compliance with the covenants under the Credit Facility. In addition to the Credit Facility, we have certain stand alone cash collateralized letter of credit agreements and facilities under which there were a total of $5.1 million and $29.5 million of letters of credit outstanding as of October 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. These agreements and facilities require us to maintain specified amounts of cash as collateral in segregated accounts to support the letters of credit issued thereunder, which will affect the amount of cash we have available for other uses. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the amount of cash collateral in these segregated accounts was $5.2 million and $30.7 million, respectively, which is reflected in “Restricted cash and cash equivalents” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiary, K. Hovnanian American Mortgage, LLC (“K. Hovnanian Mortgage”), originates mortgage loans primarily from the sale of our homes. Such mortgage loans and related servicing rights are sold in the secondary mortgage market within a short period of time. In certain instances, we retain the servicing rights for a small amount of loans. Our secured Master Repurchase Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on June 28, 2013 to extend the maturity date to June 27, 2014, is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $50.0 million through maturity. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable monthly on outstanding advances at an adjusted LIBOR rate, which was 0.168% at October 31, 2013, subject to a floor of 1%, plus the applicable margin of 2.5%. Therefore, at October 31, 2013, the interest rate was 3.5%. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Chase Master Repurchase Agreement was $33.6 million and $58.8 million, respectively. K. Hovnanian Mortgage has another secured Master Repurchase Agreement with Customers Bank (“Customers Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on May 28, 2013 to extend the maturity date to May 27, 2014, that is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $37.5 million through maturity. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable daily or as loans are sold to permanent investors on outstanding advances at the current LIBOR subject to a floor of 0.5% plus the applicable margin ranging from 3.0% to 5.5% based on the takeout investor and type of loan. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Customers Master Repurchase Agreement was $30.7 million and $22.9 million, respectively. K. Hovnanian Mortgage has a third secured Master Repurchase Agreement with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital LLC (“Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on January 2, 2013, that is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $50.0 million through June 20, 2014. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable monthly on outstanding advances at the Credit Suisse Cost of Funds, which was 0.48% at October 31, 2013, plus the applicable margin ranging from 3.75% to 4.0% based on the takeout investor and type of loan. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement was $27.4 million and $25.8 million, respectively. The Chase Master Repurchase Agreement, Customers Master Repurchase Agreement and Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement (together, the “Master Repurchase Agreements”) require K. Hovnanian Mortgage to satisfy and maintain specified financial ratios and other financial condition tests. Because of the extremely short period of time mortgages are held by K. Hovnanian Mortgage before the mortgages are sold to investors (generally a period of a few weeks), the immateriality to us on a consolidated basis of the size of the Master Repurchase Agreements, the levels required by these financial covenants, our ability based on our immediately available resources to contribute sufficient capital to cure any default, were such conditions to occur, and our right to cure any conditions of default based on the terms of the agreement, we do not consider any of these covenants to be substantive or material. As of October 31, 2013, we believe we were in compliance with the covenants under the Master Repurchase Agreements.

Note 8 - Mortgages and Notes Payable

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2013

8. Mortgages and Notes Payable

We have nonrecourse mortgages for a small number of our communities totaling $62.9 million, as well as our Corporate Headquarters totaling $17.7 million, at October 31, 2013, which are secured by the related real property and any improvements. These loans have installment obligations with annual principal maturities in the years ending October 31 of approximately: $63.9 million in 2014, $1.2 million in 2015, $1.3 million in 2016, $1.4 million in 2017, $1.5 million in 2018 and $11.3 million after 2018. The interest rates on these obligations range from 4.0% to 8.8% at October 31, 2013.

In June 2013, K. Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (“K. Hovnanian”), as borrower, and we and certain of our subsidiaries, as guarantors, entered into a five-year $75 million unsecured revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with Citicorp USA, Inc., as administrative agent and issuing bank, and Citibank, N.A., as a lender. The Credit Facility is available for both letters of credit and general corporate purposes. The Credit Facility does not contain any financial maintenance covenants, but does contain certain restrictive covenants that track those contained in our indenture governing the First Lien Notes (as defined below in Note 9), which are described in Note 9. The Credit Facility also contains certain customary events of default which would permit the administrative agent at the request of the required lenders to, among other things, declare all loans then outstanding to be immediately due and payable if not cured within applicable grace periods, including the failure to make timely payments of amounts payable under the Credit Facility or other material indebtedness or the acceleration of other material indebtedness, the failure to comply with agreements and covenants or for representations or warranties to be correct in all material respects when made, specified events of bankruptcy and insolvency, and the entry of a material judgment against a loan party. Outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility accrue interest at an annual rate equal to either, as selected by K. Hovnanian, (i) the alternate base rate plus the applicable spread determined on the date of such borrowing or (ii) an adjusted LIBOR rate plus the applicable spread determined as of the date two business days prior to the first day of the interest period for such borrowing. As of October 31, 2013, there were no borrowings and $25.8 million of letters of credit outstanding under the Credit Facility and as of such date, we believe we were in compliance with the covenants under the Credit Facility.

In addition to the Credit Facility, we have certain stand alone cash collateralized letter of credit agreements and facilities under which there were a total of $5.1 million and $29.5 million of letters of credit outstanding as of October 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively. These agreements and facilities require us to maintain specified amounts of cash as collateral in segregated accounts to support the letters of credit issued thereunder, which will affect the amount of cash we have available for other uses. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the amount of cash collateral in these segregated accounts was $5.2 million and $30.7 million, respectively, which is reflected in “Restricted cash and cash equivalents” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Our wholly owned mortgage banking subsidiary, K. Hovnanian American Mortgage, LLC (“K. Hovnanian Mortgage”), originates mortgage loans primarily from the sale of our homes. Such mortgage loans and related servicing rights are sold in the secondary mortgage market within a short period of time. In certain instances, we retain the servicing rights for a small amount of loans. Our secured Master Repurchase Agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on June 28, 2013 to extend the maturity date to June 27, 2014, is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $50.0 million through maturity. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable monthly on outstanding advances at an adjusted LIBOR rate, which was 0.168% at October 31, 2013, subject to a floor of 1%, plus the applicable margin of 2.5%. Therefore, at October 31, 2013, the interest rate was 3.5%. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Chase Master Repurchase Agreement was $33.6 million and $58.8 million, respectively.

K. Hovnanian Mortgage has another secured Master Repurchase Agreement with Customers Bank (“Customers Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on May 28, 2013 to extend the maturity date to May 27, 2014, that is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $37.5 million through maturity. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable daily or as loans are sold to permanent investors on outstanding advances at the current LIBOR subject to a floor of 0.5% plus the applicable margin ranging from 3.0% to 5.5% based on the takeout investor and type of loan. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Customers Master Repurchase Agreement was $30.7 million and $22.9 million, respectively.

K. Hovnanian Mortgage has a third secured Master Repurchase Agreement with Credit Suisse First Boston Mortgage Capital LLC (“Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement”), which was amended on January 2, 2013, that is a short-term borrowing facility that provides up to $50.0 million through June 20, 2014. The loan is secured by the mortgages held for sale and is repaid when we sell the underlying mortgage loans to permanent investors. Interest is payable monthly on outstanding advances at the Credit Suisse Cost of Funds, which was 0.48% at October 31, 2013, plus the applicable margin ranging from 3.75% to 4.0% based on the takeout investor and type of loan. As of October 31, 2013 and 2012, the aggregate principal amount of all borrowings outstanding under the Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement was $27.4 million and $25.8 million, respectively.

The Chase Master Repurchase Agreement, Customers Master Repurchase Agreement and Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement (together, the “Master Repurchase Agreements”) require K. Hovnanian Mortgage to satisfy and maintain specified financial ratios and other financial condition tests. Because of the extremely short period of time mortgages are held by K. Hovnanian Mortgage before the mortgages are sold to investors (generally a period of a few weeks), the immateriality to us on a consolidated basis of the size of the Master Repurchase Agreements, the levels required by these financial covenants, our ability based on our immediately available resources to contribute sufficient capital to cure any default, were such conditions to occur, and our right to cure any conditions of default based on the terms of the agreement, we do not consider any of these covenants to be substantive or material. As of October 31, 2013, we believe we were in compliance with the covenants under the Master Repurchase Agreements.