Item 1. Business.

| --- | --- |

General

NVR, Inc. (“NVR”) was formed in 1980 as NVHomes, Inc. Our primary business is the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominium buildings. To more fully serve customers of our homebuilding operations, we also operate a mortgage banking and title services business. We conduct our homebuilding activities directly. Our mortgage banking operations are operated primarily through a wholly owned subsidiary, NVR Mortgage Finance, Inc. (“NVRM”). Unless the context otherwise requires, references to “NVR”, “we”, “us” or “our” include NVR and its consolidated subsidiaries.

We are one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. While we operate in multiple locations in fifteen states, primarily in the eastern part of the United States, approximately 35% of our home settlements in 2011 occurred in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, MD metropolitan areas, which accounted for approximately 46% of our 2011 homebuilding revenues. Our homebuilding operations include the construction and sale of single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominium buildings under four trade names: Ryan Homes, NVHomes, Fox Ridge Homes and Rymarc Homes. The Ryan Homes, Fox Ridge Homes, and Rymarc Homes products are marketed primarily to first-time homeowners and first-time move-up buyers. The Ryan Homes product is currently sold in twenty-five metropolitan areas located in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, New Jersey, Delaware, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Florida. The Fox Ridge Homes product is sold solely in the Nashville, TN metropolitan area and the Rymarc Homes product is sold solely in the Columbia, SC metropolitan area. The NVHomes product is marketed primarily to move-up and upscale buyers and is sold in the Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, Philadelphia, PA and the Maryland Eastern Shore metropolitan areas. In 2011, our average price of a settled unit was approximately $307,500.

Historically, we generally have not engaged in land development (see discussion below on our limited land development activities). Instead, we typically acquire finished building lots at market prices from various development entities under fixed price purchase agreements (“purchase agreements”) that require deposits that may be forfeited if we fail to perform under the purchase agreement. The deposits required under the purchase agreements are in the form of cash or letters of credit in varying amounts and represent a percentage, typically ranging up to 10%, of the aggregate purchase price of the finished lots.

We believe that our lot acquisition strategy avoids the financial requirements and risks associated with direct land ownership and land development. We may, at our option, choose for any reason and at any time not to perform under these purchase agreements by delivering notice of our intent not to acquire the finished lots under contract. Our sole legal obligation and economic loss for failure to perform under these purchase agreements is limited to the amount of the deposit pursuant to the liquidated damage provision contained within the purchase agreements. We do not have any financial guarantees or completion obligations and we typically do not guarantee lot purchases on a specific performance basis under these purchase agreements. None of the creditors of any of the development entities with which we have entered these purchase agreements have recourse to our general credit. We generally seek to maintain control over a supply of lots believed to be suitable to meet our five-year business plan.

Our continued success is contingent upon our ability to control an adequate supply of finished lots on which to build and on our developers’ ability to timely deliver finished lots to meet the sales demands of our customers. However, current economic conditions and the continued downturn of the homebuilding industry have exerted pressure on our developers’ ability to obtain acquisition and development financing or to raise equity investments to finance land development activity, potentially constraining our supply of finished lots. This pressure has necessitated that in certain specific strategic circumstances we deviate from our historical lot acquisition strategy and engage in joint venture arrangements with land developers or directly acquire raw ground already zoned for its intended use for development. Once we acquire control of any raw ground, we determine

Table of Contents

whether to sell the raw parcel to a developer and enter into a fixed price purchase agreement with the developer to purchase the finished lots, or whether to hire a developer to develop the land on our behalf. While joint venture arrangements and direct land development activity are not our preferred method of acquiring finished building lots, we may enter into additional transactions in the future on a limited basis where there exists a compelling strategic or prudent financial reason to do so. We expect, however, to continue to acquire substantially all of our finished lot inventory using fixed price purchase agreements with forfeitable deposits.

As of December 31, 2011, we controlled approximately 48,200 lots under purchase agreements with deposits in cash and letters of credit totaling approximately $202.3 million and $3.2 million, respectively. Included in the number of controlled lots are approximately 10,600 lots for which we have recorded a contract land deposit impairment reserve of approximately $70.3 million as of December 31, 2011. In addition, we had an aggregate investment totaling approximately $89.5 million in four separate joint venture limited liability corporations (“JVs”), expected to produce approximately 6,700 lots. Of the lots controlled by the JVs, approximately 2,700 were not under contract at December 31, 2011. Further, as of December 31, 2011, we directly owned three separate raw parcels of land, zoned for their intended use, with a current cost basis, including development costs, of approximately $78.0 million that we intend to develop into approximately 800 finished lots for use in our homebuilding operations. See Note 3 and Note 4 to the consolidated financial statements included herein for additional information regarding JVs and land under development, respectively.

In addition to building and selling homes, we provide a number of mortgage-related services through our mortgage banking operations. Through operations in each of our homebuilding markets, NVRM originates mortgage loans almost exclusively for our homebuyers. NVRM generates revenues primarily from origination fees, gains on sales of loans and title fees. NVRM sells all of the mortgage loans it closes into the secondary markets on a servicing released basis.

Segment information for our homebuilding and mortgage banking businesses is included in Note 2 in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.

Current Business Environment

The homebuilding environment remains challenging as it continues to be impacted by the economic downturn and uncertainty that has existed in the U.S. throughout the past six years. The sluggish economy and high unemployment rates continue to weigh on consumer confidence and in turn, suppress housing demand, despite what have been historically low mortgage rates in 2011. New home sales also continue to be adversely impacted by a highly restrictive mortgage lending environment that has made it more difficult for our customers to obtain mortgage financing. We expect to continue to see market volatility, pricing pressure and reduced demand for new homes until there is economic stability and improved consumer confidence. For additional information and analysis of recent trends in our operations and financial condition, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7 of this Form 10-K.

Homebuilding

Products

We offer single-family detached homes, townhomes and condominium buildings with many different basic home designs. These home designs have a variety of elevations and numerous other options. Our homes combine traditional, colonial, or cottage exterior designs with contemporary interior designs and amenities, generally include two to four bedrooms and range from approximately 1,000 to 7,300 square feet. During 2011, the prices at which we settled homes ranged from approximately $103,000 to $2.3 million and averaged approximately $307,500. During 2010, our average price was approximately $297,100.

Table of Contents

Markets

Our four reportable homebuilding segments operate in the following geographic regions:

Backlog

Backlog totaled 3,676 units and approximately $1.2 billion at December 31, 2011 compared to backlog of 2,916 units and approximately $1.0 billion at December 31, 2010. Backlog, which represents homes sold but not yet settled with the customer, may be impacted by customer cancellations for various reasons that are beyond our control, such as failure to obtain mortgage financing, inability to sell an existing home, job loss, or a variety of other reasons. In any period, a portion of the cancellations that we experience are related to new sales that occurred during the same period, and a portion are related to sales that occurred in prior periods and therefore appeared in the opening backlog for the current period. Expressed as the total of all cancellations during the period as a percentage of gross sales during the period, our cancellation rate was approximately 14% in each of 2011, 2010 and 2009. Of a reporting quarter’s opening backlog, 6% during 2011 and 2010, and 7% during 2009, of that opening backlog balance cancelled during the fiscal quarter. We can provide no assurance that our historical cancellation rates are indicative of the actual cancellation rate that may occur in future periods. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

Further discussion of settlements, new orders and backlog activity by homebuilding reportable segment for each of the last three years can be found in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7 of this Form 10-K.

Construction

We utilize independent subcontractors under fixed price contracts to perform construction work on our homes. We use several independent subcontractors in our various markets and we are not dependent on any single subcontractor or on a small number of subcontractors.

Sales and Marketing

Our preferred marketing method is for customers to visit a furnished model home featuring many built-in options and a landscaped lot. The garages of these model homes are usually converted into temporary sales centers where alternative facades and floor plans are displayed and designs for other models are available for review. Sales representatives are compensated predominantly on a commission basis.

Regulation

We and our subcontractors must comply with various federal, state and local zoning, building, environmental, advertising and consumer credit statutes, rules and regulations, as well as other regulations and requirements in connection with our construction and sales activities. All of these regulations have increased the cost to produce and market our products, and in some instances, have delayed our developers’ ability to deliver finished lots to us. Counties and cities in which we build homes have at times declared moratoriums on the issuance of building permits and imposed other restrictions in the areas in which sewage treatment facilities and other public facilities do not reach minimum standards. To date, restrictive zoning laws and the imposition of moratoriums have not had a material adverse effect on our construction activities.

Table of Contents

Competition and Market Factors

The housing industry is highly competitive. We compete with numerous homebuilders of varying size, ranging from local to national in scope, some of which have greater financial resources than we do. We also face competition from the home resale market. Our homebuilding operations compete primarily on the basis of price, location, design, quality, service and reputation. Historically, we have been one of the market leaders in each of the markets where we build homes.

The housing industry is cyclical and is affected by consumer confidence levels, prevailing economic conditions and interest rates. Other factors that affect the housing industry and the demand for new homes include the availability and the cost of land, labor and materials; changes in consumer preferences; demographic trends; and the availability of mortgage finance programs. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of this Form 10-K.

We are dependent upon building material suppliers for a continuous flow of raw materials. Whenever possible, we utilize standard products available from multiple sources. In the past, such raw materials have been generally available to us in adequate supply.

Mortgage Banking

We provide a number of mortgage related services to our homebuilding customers through our mortgage banking operations. Our mortgage banking operations also include separate subsidiaries that broker title insurance and perform title searches in connection with mortgage loan closings for which they receive commissions and fees. Because NVRM originates mortgage loans almost exclusively for our homebuilding customers, NVRM is dependent on our homebuilding segment. In 2011, NVRM closed approximately 7,000 loans with an aggregate principal amount of approximately $1.9 billion as compared to approximately 8,600 loans with an aggregate principal amount of approximately $2.2 billion in 2010.

NVRM sells all of the mortgage loans it closes to investors in the secondary markets on a servicing released basis, typically within 30 to 60 days from the loan closing. NVRM is an approved seller/servicer for FNMA mortgage loans and an approved lender/seller of GNMA, FHLMC, VA and FHA mortgage loans.

Competition and Market Factors

NVRM’s main competition comes from national, regional, and local mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, thrifts and banks in each of these markets. NVRM competes primarily on the basis of customer service, variety of products offered, interest rates offered, prices of ancillary services and relative financing availability and costs.

Regulation

NVRM is an approved seller/servicer of FNMA mortgage loans and an approved lender/seller of GNMA, FHLMC, VA and FHA mortgage loans, and is subject to all of those agencies’ rules and regulations. These rules and regulations restrict certain activities of NVRM. NVRM is currently eligible and expects to remain eligible to participate in such programs. In addition, NVRM is subject to regulation at the state and federal level with respect to specific origination, selling and servicing practices.

Pipeline

NVRM’s mortgage loans in process that have not closed (“Pipeline”) at December 31, 2011 and 2010, had an aggregate principal balance of approximately $790 million and $670 million, respectively. NVRM’s cancellation rate was approximately 29% in 2011. During 2010 and 2009, NVRM’s loan cancellation rates were approximately 29% and 35%, respectively. We can provide no assurance that our historical loan cancellation rates are indicative of the actual loan cancellation rate that may occur in future periods. See “Risk Factors” in Item 1A in this Form 10-K.

Table of Contents

Employees

At December 31, 2011, we employed 2,765 full-time persons, of whom 1,077 were officers and management personnel, 182 were technical and construction personnel, 619 were sales personnel, 477 were administrative personnel and 410 were engaged in various other service and labor activities. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement and we have never experienced a work stoppage. We believe that our employee relations are good.

Available Information

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). These filings are available to the public over the internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. You may also read and copy any document we file at the SEC’s public reference room located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference room.

Our principal internet website can be found at http://www.nvrinc.com. We make available free of charge on or through our website, access to our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed, or furnished, to the SEC.

Our website also includes a corporate governance section which contains our Corporate Governance Guidelines (which includes our Directors’ Independence Standards), Code of Ethics, Board of Directors’ Committee Charters for the Audit, Compensation, Corporate Governance, Nominating and Qualified Legal Compliance Committees, Policies and Procedures for the Consideration of Board of Director Candidates, Policies and Procedures Regarding Communications with the NVR, Inc. Board of Directors, the Independent Lead Director and the Non-Management Directors as a group. Additionally, amendments to and waivers from a provision of the Code of Ethics that apply to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or persons performing similar functions will be disclosed on our website.