UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2011March 31, 2012

OR

Commission File No. 1-8951

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

(303) 773-1100

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  x    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ¨    No  x

As of September 30, 2011, 47,474,000March 31, 2012, 47,981,404 shares of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. common stock were outstanding.

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2011MARCH 31, 2012

INDEX

(i)

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(In thousands, except per share amounts)

(Unaudited) and Comprehensive Income

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (“MDC” or the “Company,” which refers to M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries) have been prepared, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Accordingly, they do not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America(“GAAP”) for complete financial statements. These statements reflect all normal and recurring adjustments which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of MDC at September 30, 2011March 31, 2012 and for all periods presented. These statements should be read in conjunction with MDC’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in MDC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, filed2011.

Certain prior year amounts in the consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform with the SEC on February 11, 2011.2012 presentation.

The Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year. Refer to the economic conditions described under the caption “Risk Factors” in Part II, Item 1A of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and “Risk Factors Relating to our Business” in Item 1A of the Company’s December 31, 20102011 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

In May 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued ASU 2011-04,Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs , (“ASU 2011-04”). ASU 2011-04 amends ASC 820,Fair Value Measurements , (“ASC 820”), providing a consistent definition and measurement of fair value, as well as similar disclosure requirements between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. ASU 2011-04 changes certain fair value measurement principles, clarifies the application of existing fair value measurement and expands the ASC 820 disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2011-04 was effective for the Company’s interim and annual periods beginning January 1, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2011-04 did not have a material effect on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations for the 2012 first quarter.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-05,Presentation of Comprehensive Income , (“ASU 2011-05”), which improves the comparability, consistency, and transparency of financial reporting and increases the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income (“OCI”) by eliminating the option to present components of OCI as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity. The amendments in this standard require that all non-owner changes in stockholders’ equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. The amendments in this standard do not change the items that must be reported in OCI, when an item of OCI must be reclassified to net income, or change the option for an entity to present components of OCI gross or net of the effect of income taxes. The amendments in ASU 2011-05 were effective for our interim and annual periods beginning January 1, 2012 and were applied retrospectively. The adoption of the provisions of ASU 2011-05 in the 2012 first quarter did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

In September 2011, the FASB issued an amendment to ASC 350,Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”), which simplifies how entities test goodwill for impairment. Previous guidance under ASC 350 required an entity to test goodwill for impairment using a two-step process on at least an annual basis. First, the fair value of a reporting unit was calculated and compared to its carrying amount, including goodwill. Second, if the fair value of a reporting unit was less than its carrying amount, the amount of impairment loss, if any, was required to be measured. Under the amendments in this update, an entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads the entity to determine that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount. If, after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, an entity determines that it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, then the two-step impairment test is unnecessary. If the entity concludes otherwise, then it is required to test goodwill for impairment under the two-step process as described under ASC 350. The amendments are effective for us for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning January 1, 2012, and early adoption is permitted. We adopted this standard in the 2012 first quarter. The adoption of the provisions of ASC 350 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

The Company’s operating segments are defined as a component of an enterprise for which discrete financial information is available and is reviewed regularly by the chief operating decision-maker, or decision-making group, to evaluate performance and make operating decisions. The Company has identified its chief operating decision-makers (“CODMs”) as two key executives—the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Operating Officer.

The Company has identified each homebuilding subdivision as an operating segment as each homebuilding subdivision engages in business activities from which it earns revenue, primarily from the sale of single-family detached homes, generally to first-time and first-time move-up homebuyers. Subdivisions in the reportable segments noted below have been aggregated because they are similar in the following regards: (1) economic characteristics; (2) housing products; (3) class of homebuyer; (4) regulatory environments; and (5) methods used to construct and sell homes. The Company’s homebuilding reportable segments are as follows:

The Company’s Financial Services reportable segment consists of the operations of the following operating segments: (1) HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation (“HomeAmerican”); (2) Allegiant; (3) StarAmerican; (4) American Home Insurance Agency, Inc.; and (5) American Home Title and Escrow Company. These operating segments have been aggregated into one reportable segment because they do not individually exceed 10 percent of: (1) consolidated revenue; (2) the greater of (A) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or (B) the positive value of the combined reported loss of all operating segments that reported losses; or (3) consolidated assets.

Corporate is a non-operating segment that develops and implements strategic initiatives and supports our operating divisions by centralizing key administrative functions such as finance and treasury, information technology, insurance and risk management, litigation and human resources. Corporate also provides the necessary administrative functions to support MDC as a publicly traded company. A portion of the expenses incurred by Corporate are allocated to the homebuilding operating segments based on their respective percentages of assets, and to a lesser degree, a portion of Corporate expenses are allocated to the financial services segment. A majority of Corporate’s personnel and resources are primarily dedicated to activities relating to the homebuilding segments, and, therefore, the balance of any unallocated Corporate expenses is included in the homebuilding segment.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

The following table summarizes total assets for the Company’s homebuilding operations. Intercompany adjustments noted in the table below relate to loans from the Company’s Financial Services segment to its Corporate segment. The assets in the Company’s Corporate segment primarily include cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and property and equipment, net.

A company that has participating security holders (for example, unvested restricted stock that has nonforfeitable dividend rights) is required to utilize the two-class method for purposes of calculating earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”). The two-class method is an allocation of earnings/(loss) between the holders of common stock and a company’s participating security holders. Under the two-class method, earnings/(loss) for the reporting period are allocated between common shareholders and other security holders, based on their respective rights to receive distributed earnings (i.e., dividends) and undistributed earnings (i.e., net income or loss). Currently, the Company has one class of security and has participating security holders consisting of shareholders of unvested restricted stock. The basic and diluted EPS calculations are shown below.

Diluted EPS includes the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents and is computed using the weighted-average number of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during the reporting period. Common stock equivalents include most stock options and unvested restricted stock. Unvested performance-based stock options of 0.3 million were excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS as the performance-based conditions were not met at March 31, 2012. Diluted EPS for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011 excluded approximately 5.0 million shares of common stock equivalents because the effect of their inclusion would be anti-dilutive, or would decrease the reported loss per share. Using the treasury stock method, the weighted-average common stock equivalents included in diluted EPS was 0.3 million shares during the three months ended March 31, 2012.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”) defines fair value, establishes guidelines for measuring fair value and expands disclosures regarding fair value measurements. ASC 820 establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments.

Cash and Cash Equivalents. For cash and cash equivalents, the fair value approximates carrying value.

Marketable Securities. The Company’s marketable securities consist of fixed rate and floating rate interest earning securities, primarily: (1) debt securities, which may include, among others, United States government and government agency debt and corporate debt; (2) holdings in mutual fund equity securities and (3) deposit securities, which may include, among others, certificates of deposit and time deposits. As of September 30,March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, all of the Company’s marketable securities arewere treated as available-for-sale investments and, as such, the Company has recorded all of its marketable securities at fair value with changes in fair value being recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income.

As of December 31, 2010, the Company classified certain marketable securities as held-to-maturity as it had, at the time of purchase, the intent and ability to hold those securities until maturity. In July 2011, the Company sold $100 million of held-to-maturity marketable securities prior to their maturity and, as a result, the Company now classifies its debt securities, which were previously accounted for as held-to-maturity, as available-for-sale.

The following table sets forth the Company’s amortized cost and fair values of marketable securities which were re-classified from held-to-maturity to available-for-sale (in thousands) during 2011. The fair values of the Company’s marketable securities are based upon Level 1 and Level 2 fair value inputs.

The following table setstables set forth the amortized cost and estimated fair value of the Company’s other available-for-sale marketable securities. The fair values of the Company’s equity securities (in thousands)are based upon Level 1 inputs, and the fair values of the Company’s debt securities are based on Level 2 inputs.

As of September 30,March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company’s marketable securities (homebuilding and financial services in aggregate) were in an unrealized loss position of $14.0$0.7 million includingand $7.2 million, respectively. The equity securities, which consist of three mutual fund securities thataccounts and have a combined unrealized loss of $11.2 million and various debt securities that are in an unrealized position of $2.8$4.3 million as of September 30, 2011. These debt and equity securitiesMarch 31, 2012, have been in this unrealized loss position for less than 12 months. TheManagement currently does not have the intent to sell any of its securities that are currently in an unrealized loss position, and it is not likely that the Company has evaluatedwill be required to sell these marketable securities before the recovery of their cost basis. Additionally, due to the short period of time that the Company’s marketable securities have been in an unrealized loss position, and that the decline in the market value occurred during a period of overall decline in market values, the debt and equity securities in order to determine if this decline is other thanbelieved to be temporary. Based upon this evaluation, the Company does not believe the decline in value is permanent and, as such, an “other-than-temporary” impairment has not been recorded.

Mortgage Loans Held-for-Sale, Net. As of September 30, 2011,March 31, 2012, the primary components of the Company’s mortgage loans held-for-sale that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis are: (1) mortgage loans held-for-sale under commitments to sell; and (2) mortgage loans held-for-sale not under commitments to sell. At September 30, 2011March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2010,2011, the Company had $39.9$46.5 million and $56.9$77.5 million, respectively, of mortgage loans held-for-sale under commitments to sell for which fair value was based upon a Level 2 input being the quoted market prices for those mortgage loans. At September 30, 2011March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2010,2011, the Company had $2.4$8.5 million and $8.2$0.8 million, respectively, of mortgage loans held-for-sale that were not under commitments to sell, and as such, theirthe fair value was based upon Level 2 fair value inputs, primarily estimated market price received from an outside party.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

Inventories.  Inventories. The Company records its homebuilding inventory (housingCompany’s inventories consist of housing completed or under construction and land and land under development)development. The Company’s inventories are primarily associated with subdivisions where the Company intends to construct and sell homes on the land, including model and unsold started homes. Components of housing completed or under construction primarily include: (1) land costs transferred from land and land under development; (2) hard costs associated with the construction of a house; (3) overhead costs, which include real property taxes, engineering fees and permits and fees; (4) capitalized interest; and (5) indirect construction costs. Land costs are transferred from land and land under development to housing completed or under construction at fair value only when the estimated fairpoint in time that the Company begins construction of a home on an owned lot. Costs capitalized to land and land under development primarily include: (1) land costs; (2) development costs for the land; (3) entitlement costs; (4) capitalized interest; and (5) title insurance, taxes and closing costs directly related to the purchase of the land parcel.

Homebuilding inventories are carried at cost unless events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the underlying subdivision may not be recoverable. The Company determines impairments on a subdivision level basis as each such subdivision represents the lowest level of identifiable cash flows. In making this determination, the Company reviews, among other things, the following for each subdivision:

If events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the Company’s inventory may not be recoverable, assets are reviewed for impairment by comparing the undiscounted estimated future cash flows from an individual subdivision to its carrying value. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the subdivision’s carrying value, the carrying value of the subdivision is written down to its then estimated fair value. The Company generally determines the estimated fair value of each impaired subdivision either by: (1) calculatingby determining the present value of the estimated future cash flows at discount rates that are commensurate with the risk of the subdivision under evaluation; or (2) assessing whatevaluation. For the market value of the land is in its current condition by considering the estimated price a willing buyer would pay for the land (other than in a forced liquidation), and recent land purchase transactions thatthree months ended March 31, 2011, the Company believes are indicatorsrecognized inventory impairment charges of fair value. These estimates are dependent on specific market or sub-market conditions for each subdivision. Local market-specific conditions that may impact these estimates for a subdivision include, among other things: (1) forecasted base selling prices and home sales incentives; (2) estimated land development costs and home cost of construction; (3) the current sales pace for active subdivisions; (4) changes by management$0.3 million. The discount rates used in the sales strategy of a given subdivision; and (5)Company’s estimated discounted cash flows ranged from 13% to 18% during the level of competition within a market or sub-market, including publicly available home sales prices and home sales incentives offered by our competitors.2011 first quarter. The estimated fair values of impaired subdivisions are based upon Level 3 inputs. The fair value ofCompany did not record any inventory impairments during the Company’s inventory that was impaired at September 30, 2011 is as follows (in thousands).

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

three months ended March 31, 2012.

Related Party Assets. Related party assets are included in prepaid expenses and other assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company’s related party assets are debt security bonds that it acquired from a quasi-municipal corporation in the state of Colorado. The Company has estimated the fair value of the related party assets based upon discounted cash flows as the Company does not believe there is a readily available market for such assets. The estimated cash flows from the bonds are ultimately based upon the Company’s estimated cash flows associated with the building, selling and closing of homes in one of its Colorado subdivisions. The estimated fair values of these assets are based upon Level 3 cash flow inputs. Based upon this evaluation, the estimated fair value of the related party assets approximates its carrying value.

Mortgage Repurchase Facility.The Company’s Mortgage Repurchase Facility (as defined below) is at floating rates or at fixed rates that approximate current market rates and have relatively short-term maturities. The fair value approximates carrying value.

Senior Notes.  The following table states the estimated fair values of the Company’s senior notes (in thousands).

On July 7, 2011, the Company completed a debt tender offer extinguishing $63.7 million of its 7% Senior Notes due 2012 and $173.3 million of its 5 ¹/2% Senior Notes due 2013. The Company paid $254.9 million for the acquired notes.

As further described in Note 16, in October 2011, the Company redeemed the remaining $86.1 million of its outstanding 7% Senior Notes due 2012 and announced that it will redeem the remaining $176.6 million outstanding balance of its 5 ¹/2% Senior Notes due 2013 in November 2011.

The estimated fair value of the 7% Senior Notes due 2012 and 5  ¹/2% Senior Notes due 2013 are based upon the amounts paid and expected to be paid up redemption in October and November, respectively. The estimated fair value of the remaining senior notes is based on Level 2 fair value inputs, including market prices of bonds in the homebuilding sector.

The following table sets forth, by reportable segment, the asset impairments recorded during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 (in thousands).

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

The Company recorded $4.7 million and $14.1 million of asset impairments during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, which resulted from a decline in the market value of land and homes in certain subdivisions of the West, Mountain and Other Homebuilding segments. The Company recorded $3.7 million of asset impairments during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 which resulted from a decline in the market value of land and homes in several subdivisions of our West segment.

The Company utilizes certain derivative instruments in the normal course of business, which primarily include commitments to originate mortgage loans (interest rate lock commitments or locked pipeline) and forward sales of mortgage-backed securities commitments, both of which typically are short-term in nature. Forward sales securities commitments and private investor sales commitments are utilized to hedge changes in fair value of mortgage loan inventory and commitments to originate mortgage loans. At September 30, 2011, the Company had $89.1 million in interest rate lock commitments and $38.0 million in forward sales of mortgage-backed securities.

The Company records its mortgage loans held-for-sale at fair value to achieve matching of the changes in the fair value of its derivative instruments with the changes in fair values of the loans it is hedging, without having to designate its derivatives as hedging instruments. For forward sales commitments, as well as commitments to originate mortgage loans that are still outstanding at the end of a reporting period, the Company records the fair value of the derivatives in other revenue in the Consolidated Statements of Operations with an offset to either prepaid and other assets or accrued liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets, depending on the nature of the change. The changes in fair value of the Company’s derivatives were not material during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010.

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

The following table sets forth information relating to prepaid expenses and other assets, net (in thousands).

The following table sets forth information relating to accrued liabilities (in thousands).

A company that has participating security holders (for example, unvested restricted stock that has nonforfeitable dividend rights) is required to utilize the two-class method for purposes of calculating earnings (loss) per share (“EPS”). The two-class method is an allocation of earnings/(loss) between the holders of common stock and a company’s participating security holders. Under the two-class method, earnings/(loss) for the reporting period are allocated between common shareholders and other security holders, based on their respective rights to receive distributed earnings (i.e. dividends) and undistributed earnings (i.e. net income or loss). Currently, the Company has one class of security and has participating security holders consisting of shareholders of unvested restricted stock. The basic and diluted EPS calculations are shown below (in thousands, except per share amounts).

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M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)

Diluted EPS includesSenior Notes: The estimated values of the dilutive effectsenior notes in the following table are based on Level 2 inputs, including market prices of common stock equivalents and is computed usingbonds in the weighted-average number of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during the reporting period. Common stock equivalents include stock options and unvested restricted stock. Diluted EPS for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2011 and 2010 excluded common stock equivalents because the effect of their inclusion would be anti-dilutive, or would decrease the reported loss per share. Using the treasury stock method, the weighted-average common stock equivalents excluded from diluted EPS were 0.2 million and 0.4 million shares during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011, respectively, and 0.4 million shares during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010.homebuilding sector.

The Company capitalizes interest on its senior notes associated with its qualifyingqualified assets, which includes land and land under development that is actively being developed and homes under construction through the completion of construction. When construction of a home is complete, such home is no longer considered to be a qualifyingqualified asset and interest is no longer capitalized on that home. The Company expensed $3.7$0.8 million and $9.0$8.7 million of interest primarily associated with interest incurred on its senior noteshomebuilding debt during the three months ended September 30,March 31, 2012 and 2011, and 2010, respectively, and $19.8 million and $28.8 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively, that could not be capitalized.

Interest activity is shownrespectively. The table set forth below (in thousands).summarizes homebuilding interest activity.