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<SEC-DOCUMENT>0000950123-10-094541.txt : 20110114
<SEC-HEADER>0000950123-10-094541.hdr.sgml : 20110114
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20101020152452
<PRIVATE-TO-PUBLIC>
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0000950123-10-094541
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	CORRESP
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20101020

FILER:

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			AVATAR HOLDINGS INC
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000039677
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	OPERATIVE BUILDERS [1531]
		IRS NUMBER:				231739078
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			DE
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		CORRESP

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		201 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE
		CITY:			CORAL GABLES
		STATE:			FL
		ZIP:			33134
		BUSINESS PHONE:		3054427000

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		201 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE
		CITY:			CORAL GABLES
		STATE:			FL
		ZIP:			33134

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	GAC CORP /DE/
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19801023

	FORMER COMPANY:	
		FORMER CONFORMED NAME:	GENERAL ACCEPTANCE CORP
		DATE OF NAME CHANGE:	19710208
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>CORRESP
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>filename1.htm
<TEXT>
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>corresp</TITLE>
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<BODY bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
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<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">


<DIV align="center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 18pt">Avatar Holdings Inc.<BR>
201 Alhambra Circle<BR>
Coral Gables, Florida 33134
</DIV>


<DIV align="Center" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">October&nbsp;20, 2010
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><U>BY EDGAR correspondence</U>
</DIV>


<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Ms.&nbsp;Pam Long<BR>
Assistant Director<BR>
Division of Corporation Finance<BR>
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Mail Stop 7010<BR>
100 F Fifth Street, N.E.<BR>
Washington, D.C. 20549

</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="8%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">Re:&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD> Avatar Holdings Inc.<BR>
Response to Staff Comments on:<BR>
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December&nbsp;31, 2009<BR>
Filed March&nbsp;16, 2010<BR>
Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule&nbsp;14A<BR>
Filed April&nbsp;29, 2010<BR>
File No.&nbsp;1-7395</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Dear Ms.&nbsp;Long:

</DIV>
<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">On behalf of Avatar Holdings Inc. (&#147;Avatar&#148; or &#147;Company&#148;), this letter responds to your letter
dated September&nbsp;27, 2010, relating to additional comments of the staff of the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (the &#147;Commission&#148;) on the above-referenced filings of Avatar. The responses to
the Staffs comments are numbered to relate to the corresponding, comments in your September
27<SUP style="FONT-size: 85%; vertical-align: text-top">th</SUP> letter.
</DIV>


<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><U><I>Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule&nbsp;14A</I></U>
</DIV>


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>1.</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>We note your response to comment three in our letter dated August&nbsp;31, 2010.
Please describe the process you undertook to reach the conclusion that disclosure is
not necessary pursuant to Item&nbsp;402(as) of Regulation&nbsp;S-K.</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>&nbsp;</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%"><B>&nbsp;</B></TD>
    <TD><B>Response:</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>As you noted, we concluded that the risks associated with our compensation
practices and policies were not likely to have a material adverse effect on the
Company. The process by which we made that determination was a review by Senior
Management of the nature of the types and amounts of compensation received by the
various classes of employees and an analysis of whether those types or amounts of
compensation received by various employees were likely to increase or decrease any risk
to the Company.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>
<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

<!-- PAGEBREAK -->
<P><HR noshade><P>
<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt"><TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">



</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Ms.&nbsp;Pam Long<BR>
October&nbsp;20, 2010<BR>
Page 2

</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>2.</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>We note your response to comment four in our letter dated August&nbsp;31, 2010. In
addition to the fact that your long-standing practice is to separate the positions of
chairman and chief executive officer, please describe the reasons you determined that
such leadership structure is appropriate given your specific characteristics or
circumstances. Further, please disclose the extent of your board&#146;s role in performing
risk oversight and the effect such role has on its leadership structure. See Item
4</B><B>07(h)</B><B> or Regulation&nbsp;S-K. Please show us supplementally what your disclosure will look
like.</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD width="1%"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD><B><I>Response:</I></B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>Avatar continues its longstanding practice of separation of the positions of Chairman of
the Board and Chief Executive Officer. The Chairman of the Board has traditionally been
a non-executive director who has been selected primarily because of his business
experience and capabilities. For an extended period, the Chairman of the Board has been
a senior principal of a substantial shareholder of Avatar. The Chief Executive Officer
currently serves as a member of the Board. While Avatar has no established policy with
respect to the separation of the positions of the Chairman of the Board and the Chief
Executive Officer, separation has been maintained in order to attract and retain the
services of an appropriate individual to serve in each such capacity as well as the
successful experience with these structural arrangements. In making any future
determination as to the separation of these positions, the board of directors will
determine what is in the best interests of the corporation at that time.</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>The Board&#146;s role with respect to risk is substantially that of oversight. Day-to-day
risk management is the responsibility of Company management, overseen by the Audit
Committee of the Board which meets regularly with financial, operational, legal and
corporate governance management of the Company. The Audit Committee reports regularly
to the full Board at meetings which are also attended by financial, operational, legal
and corporate governance management.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><U><I>Executive Compensation, page 13</I></U><BR>
<U><I>Compensation Discussion and Analysis, page 13</I></U><BR>
<U><I>Performance-based Cash and Equity Awards, page 13</I></U>

</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>3.</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>We note your response to comment five in our letter dated August&nbsp;31, 2010.
Your compensation discussion and analysis should provide investors with an
understanding of your policies and decisions regarding your named executive officers&#146;
compensation during the last fiscal year, whether or not such policies
and decisions were actually made during the last fiscal year. See Instruction 2 to Item
4</B><B>02(b)</B><B> of Regulation&nbsp;S-K. Therefore, please confirm that in future filings your
compensation discussion and analysis will contain a discussion and analysis</B></TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>
<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>

<!-- PAGEBREAK -->
<P><HR noshade><P>
<H5 align="left" style="page-break-before:always">&nbsp;</H5><P>

<DIV style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif">


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt"><TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">



</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">Ms.&nbsp;Pam Long<BR>
October&nbsp;20, 2010<BR>
Page 3

</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>of all of
the material factors underlying the policies and decisions reflected in the data set
forth in the compensation tables for the last fiscal year.</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD width="1%"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD><B><I>Response:</I></B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>This confirms that all future filings will contain a discussion and analysis of all
material factors underlying the policies and decisions reflected in the data set forth
in the compensation totals for the relevant fiscal year.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 12pt"><U><I>Equity Compensation Plan, page 20</I></U>
</DIV>


<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B>4.</B></TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD><B>We note your response to comment six in our letter dated August&nbsp;31, 2010, and
reissue this comment. Please confirm that in the future filings you will provide the
information required by Instruction 6 to </B><B>Item 201(d)</B><B> of Regulation&nbsp;S-K, with respect to
all of the securities remaining available for future issuance under your compensation
plans as reflected in column (c)&nbsp;of your equity compensation plan table.</B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD width="1%"><B><I>&nbsp;</I></B></TD>
    <TD><B><I>Response:</I></B></TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>This confirms that in future filings we will provide the information required by
Instruction 6 to Item 201(d) of Regulation&nbsp;S-K with respect to all of the securities
remaining available for future issuance under our compensation plans as reflected in
column (c)&nbsp;of our equity compensation plan table.</TD>
</TR>

<TR>
    <TD style="font-size: 6pt">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="2%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>To evidence that disclosure, The following footnote will be inserted under column (c)&nbsp;in
the table:</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV style="margin-top: 6pt">
<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="font-size: 10pt">

<TR valign="top" style="font-size: 10pt; color: #000000; background: transparent">
    <TD width="6%" style="background: transparent">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="3%" nowrap align="left">(3)</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>This number of securities remain available for issuance under the
Amended and Restated 1997 Incentive and Capital Accumulation Plan (2005
Restatement), as amended.</TD>
</TR>

</TABLE>
</DIV>

<DIV align="left" style="font-size: 10pt; margin-top: 6pt">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact the undersigned
at (305)&nbsp;442-7000.
</DIV>

<TABLE width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="font-size: 10pt">
<TR>
    <TD width="48%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="1%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="35%">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD width="15%">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
    <TD valign="top" align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="3" align="left">Very truly yours,<BR>
<BR>
AVATAR HOLDINGS INC.<BR>
&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD valign="top">By:&nbsp;&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" style="border-bottom: 1px solid #000000" align="left">/s/ Randy L. Kotler
&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" align="left">Executive Vice President, Chief Financial&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR><TR>
    <TD align="left">&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD colspan="2" align="left">Officer and Treasurer&nbsp;</TD>
    <TD>&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
<TR>
    <TD colspan="5">&nbsp;</TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>


<P align="center" style="font-size: 10pt"><!-- Folio -->&nbsp;<!-- /Folio -->
</DIV>



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