during the year ended september 30 , 2019 , we had an average active community count of 166 , up 6.3 % from the prior year . we ended the year with an active community count of 166 . we continue to evaluate strategic opportunities to purchase land within our geographic footprint , balancing our desire to reduce leverage with land acquisition strategies that maximize the efficiency of capital employed . our asp for homes closed during the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was $ 377.7 thousand , up 4.9 % compared to the prior year . the year-over-year increase in asp on closings was primarily a function of geographic mix and product shift , though we also benefited from pricing power in some markets . in addition , we ended fiscal 2019 with an asp of $ 389.4 thousand for our units in backlog , indicating that asp growth may continue in the near term . 27 homebuilding gross margin excluding impairments and abandonments and interest for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was 19.7 % , down from 21.2 % in the prior year . we experienced a softening of demand for new homes in early fiscal 2019 in many of our markets . we responded by offering price reductions and sales incentives in order to stimulate sales demand which has resulted in lower gross margins than the comparable prior year period . in addition , we also experienced some cost pressures related to labor and materials and a slight shift in geographic mix . we continue to take action to mitigate these pressures through our efforts to reduce construction costs , improve cycle time , and reduce incentives where feasible . sg & a for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was 11.6 % of total revenue compared with 11.8 % a year earlier . the decrease in sg & a as a percentage of total revenue was due to our continued focus on improving overhead cost management in relation to our revenue growth . capital efficiency , debt reduction , and share repurchases . we continue to employ a number of strategies to improve capital efficiency , including the use of option contracts , acquisition of shorter duration land parcels , and activation of previously land held for future development communities . in addition , during the first quarter of fiscal 2019 , our board of directors approved a share repurchase program that authorizes us to repurchase up to $ 50.0 million of our outstanding common stock . as part of this program , we repurchased a total of $ 34.6 million of our common stock during the first three quarters of 2019 through accelerated share repurchases ( asr ) , a 10b5-1 plan , and open market transactions . during fiscal 2019 , we also refinanced our unsecured senior notes due 2022 and repurchased $ 51.3 million of our senior notes , which generated approximately $ 15.0 million in annual interest savings ( see note 8 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for discussion of debt activity ) . we expect to reduce outstanding debt during fiscal 2020 by more than we did in fiscal 2019 , with a goal of having less than $ 1.0 billion of outstanding debt over time . seasonal and quarterly variability : our homebuilding operating cycle generally reflects escalating new order activity in the second and third fiscal quarters and increased closings in the third and fourth fiscal quarters . the following tables present new order and closings data for the periods presented : replace_table_token_8_th 28 results of continuing operations the following table summarizes certain key income statement metrics for the periods presented : replace_table_token_9_th ( a ) homebuilding gross margin for fiscal 2019 was impacted by $ 110.0 million of impairments primarily related to impairments recorded in the second quarter for certain projects in progress in california . ( b ) calculated as land sales and other gross profit ( loss ) divided by land sales and other revenue . land sales and other gross margin is shown as a significant negative percentage for fiscal 2019 due to the $ 38.6 million of impairments recorded in the second quarter related to land held for sale assets in california . ( c ) g & a was impacted in fiscal 2017 by a $ 2.7 million charge to write off a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . ( d ) calculated as tax ( benefit ) expense for the period divided by ( loss ) income from continuing operations . due to a variety of factors , including the impact of discrete tax items on our effective tax rate , our income tax ( benefit ) expense is not always directly correlated to the amount of pretax ( loss ) income for the associated periods . 29 homebuilding operations data the following table summarizes net new orders and cancellation rates by reportable segment for the periods presented : replace_table_token_10_th net new orders for the year ended september 30 , 2019 increased to 5,576 , up 0.6 % from the year ended september 30 , 2018. the increase in net new orders was primarily driven by an increase in average active communities to 166 , up from 156 in the prior year . the slight increase also resulted from a lower cancellation rate in fiscal 2019. sales per active community per month were 2.8 for fiscal year 2019 compared to 3.0 for fiscal year 2018 , with no change in the west and slight decreases in the east and southeast segments . story_separator_special_tag future land and lot sales will depend on a variety of factors , including local market conditions , individual community performance , and changing strategic plans . operating ( loss ) income the table below summarizes operating ( loss ) income by reportable segment for the periods presented : replace_table_token_15_th ( a ) operating ( loss ) income for our east segment for the year ended september 30 , 2017 was impacted by a charge to g & a of $ 2.7 million related to the write-off of a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . ( b ) corporate and unallocated operating loss includes amortization of capitalized interest and capitalized indirect costs , expenses related to numerous shared services functions that benefit all segments but are not allocated to the operating segments , and certain other amounts that are not allocated to our operating segments . ( c ) operating ( loss ) income is impacted by impairment and abandonment charges incurred during the periods presented ( see note 5 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k ) . our operating income decreased by $ 171.4 million to a loss of $ 89.9 million for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 , compared to income of $ 81.5 million for fiscal 2018 . the decrease was primarily driven by the previously discussed decline in gross profit due to impairment charges recognized during the second quarter of fiscal 2019 , partially offset by lower sg & a costs compared to the prior year . commissions and g & a declined year-over-year as a percentage of total revenue by approximately 10 and 30 basis points . our operating income increased by $ 19.4 million to $ 81.5 million for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2018 , compared to $ 62.1 million for fiscal 2017. the increase was primarily due to a $ 36.1 million increase in homebuilding profit , partially offset by a decrease in land sales and other gross profit , an increase in commissions expense on higher homebuilding revenue , and an increase in g & a costs due to overall business growth . however , commissions and g & a declined year-over-year as a percentage of total revenue by approximately 6 basis points and 44 basis points , respectively . also , as previously discussed , fiscal 2017 included a $ 2.7 million write-off of a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . no such write-off was recognized during fiscal 2018. as a percentage of total revenue , our operating income was 3.9 % for fiscal 2018 compared to 3.2 % for fiscal 2017. below operating income , we had two noteworthy fluctuations between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018 as follows : ( 1 ) we experienced a decline in other expense , net , primarily attributable to a year-over-year decrease in interest costs not qualified for capitalization ; and ( 2 ) we recorded a loss of $ 24.9 million on the extinguishment of debt as compared to $ 27.8 million in the prior year due to the management of our debt portfolio . see the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for additional discussion of these matters . income taxes our income tax assets and liabilities and related effective tax rate are affected by various factors , the most significant of which is the valuation allowance recorded against a portion of our deferred tax assets . due to the effect of our valuation allowance adjustments beginning in fiscal 2008 , a comparison of our annual effective tax rates must consider the changes in our valuation allowance . as such , our effective tax rates have not been meaningful metrics , as our income tax expense/benefit was not directly correlated to the amount of pretax income or loss for the associated periods . beginning in fiscal 2016 , the company began using an annualized effective tax rate in interim periods to determine its income tax expense/benefit , which we believe more closely correlates with our periodic pretax income or loss . the annualized effective tax rate will continue to be impacted by discrete tax items . the income tax benefit recorded during the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 resulted from our loss from operations and the generation of additional federal tax credits . 35 the income tax expense recorded during our fiscal year ended september 30 , 2018 resulted from our income from operations and the remeasurement of deferred tax asset at the newly enacted 21.0 % federal tax rate , partially offset by the generation of federal tax credits and an additional benefit resulting from changes in our valuation allowance . the valuation allowance on all of our federal tax net operating losses and credits as well as portions of our state net losses was reduced due to our determination that it is more likely than not that these assets will be realized . the income tax expense recorded during our fiscal year ended september 30 , 2017 resulted from our income from operations , partially offset by the generation of federal tax credits and an additional benefit resulting from changes in our valuation allowance . our valuation allowance on our state net operating losses was reduced due to an increase in our estimate of utilization related to changes in our uncertain tax positions . refer to note 13 of the notes to consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for a further discussion of our income taxes and valuation allowance changes . fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 as compared to 2018 west segment : homebuilding revenue increased by 1.3 % for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 compared to the prior fiscal year due to an increase in asp of 2.6 % , partially offset by a 1.2 % decrease in closings

debt in september 2019 , the company entered into an unsecured amortizing term loan agreement in an aggregate principal amount of $ 150.0 million maturing in september 2022 with annual repayment installment provisions and a fixed rate of 4.875 % . in september 2019 , we also issued and sold $ 350.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.25 % unsecured senior notes due october 2029 at par ( before underwriting and other issuance costs ) through a private placement to qualified institutional buyers ( the 2029 notes ) . using the proceeds from the term loan agreement , the 2029 notes and cash on hand , we redeemed our outstanding 8.75 % unsecured senior notes due march 2022 of $ 500.0 million , and recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of $ 25.2 million , which was net of a $ 1.9 million non-cash write-off of debt issuance and discount costs . as a result , the company terminated , cancelled , and discharged all of its obligations under the 2022 notes . during fiscal 2019 , we also redeemed the following debt issuances , which resulted in a net reduction of our outstanding debt of $ 51.3 million after considering the issuances described above : ( 1 ) all of our unsecured senior notes due february 2023 , which had a balance of $ 24.8 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year ; ( 2 ) $ 20.4 million of our unsecured senior notes due march 2025 , which had a balance of $ 250.0 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year ; and ( 3 ) $ 6.0 million of our unsecured senior notes due october 2027 , which had a balance of $ 400.0 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year . additionally , we redeemed $ 2.9 million of loans secured by real estate during the fiscal year . these redemptions resulted in a net loss on debt extinguishment of $ 0.3 million . we generally fulfill our short-term cash requirements with cash generated from our operations and available borrowings .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```debt in september 2019 , the company entered into an unsecured amortizing term loan agreement in an aggregate principal amount of $ 150.0 million maturing in september 2022 with annual repayment installment provisions and a fixed rate of 4.875 % . in september 2019 , we also issued and sold $ 350.0 million aggregate principal amount of 7.25 % unsecured senior notes due october 2029 at par ( before underwriting and other issuance costs ) through a private placement to qualified institutional buyers ( the 2029 notes ) . using the proceeds from the term loan agreement , the 2029 notes and cash on hand , we redeemed our outstanding 8.75 % unsecured senior notes due march 2022 of $ 500.0 million , and recorded a loss on debt extinguishment of $ 25.2 million , which was net of a $ 1.9 million non-cash write-off of debt issuance and discount costs . as a result , the company terminated , cancelled , and discharged all of its obligations under the 2022 notes . during fiscal 2019 , we also redeemed the following debt issuances , which resulted in a net reduction of our outstanding debt of $ 51.3 million after considering the issuances described above : ( 1 ) all of our unsecured senior notes due february 2023 , which had a balance of $ 24.8 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year ; ( 2 ) $ 20.4 million of our unsecured senior notes due march 2025 , which had a balance of $ 250.0 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year ; and ( 3 ) $ 6.0 million of our unsecured senior notes due october 2027 , which had a balance of $ 400.0 million as of the beginning of the current fiscal year . additionally , we redeemed $ 2.9 million of loans secured by real estate during the fiscal year . these redemptions resulted in a net loss on debt extinguishment of $ 0.3 million . we generally fulfill our short-term cash requirements with cash generated from our operations and available borrowings .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : during the year ended september 30 , 2019 , we had an average active community count of 166 , up 6.3 % from the prior year . we ended the year with an active community count of 166 . we continue to evaluate strategic opportunities to purchase land within our geographic footprint , balancing our desire to reduce leverage with land acquisition strategies that maximize the efficiency of capital employed . our asp for homes closed during the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was $ 377.7 thousand , up 4.9 % compared to the prior year . the year-over-year increase in asp on closings was primarily a function of geographic mix and product shift , though we also benefited from pricing power in some markets . in addition , we ended fiscal 2019 with an asp of $ 389.4 thousand for our units in backlog , indicating that asp growth may continue in the near term . 27 homebuilding gross margin excluding impairments and abandonments and interest for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was 19.7 % , down from 21.2 % in the prior year . we experienced a softening of demand for new homes in early fiscal 2019 in many of our markets . we responded by offering price reductions and sales incentives in order to stimulate sales demand which has resulted in lower gross margins than the comparable prior year period . in addition , we also experienced some cost pressures related to labor and materials and a slight shift in geographic mix . we continue to take action to mitigate these pressures through our efforts to reduce construction costs , improve cycle time , and reduce incentives where feasible . sg & a for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 was 11.6 % of total revenue compared with 11.8 % a year earlier . the decrease in sg & a as a percentage of total revenue was due to our continued focus on improving overhead cost management in relation to our revenue growth . capital efficiency , debt reduction , and share repurchases . we continue to employ a number of strategies to improve capital efficiency , including the use of option contracts , acquisition of shorter duration land parcels , and activation of previously land held for future development communities . in addition , during the first quarter of fiscal 2019 , our board of directors approved a share repurchase program that authorizes us to repurchase up to $ 50.0 million of our outstanding common stock . as part of this program , we repurchased a total of $ 34.6 million of our common stock during the first three quarters of 2019 through accelerated share repurchases ( asr ) , a 10b5-1 plan , and open market transactions . during fiscal 2019 , we also refinanced our unsecured senior notes due 2022 and repurchased $ 51.3 million of our senior notes , which generated approximately $ 15.0 million in annual interest savings ( see note 8 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for discussion of debt activity ) . we expect to reduce outstanding debt during fiscal 2020 by more than we did in fiscal 2019 , with a goal of having less than $ 1.0 billion of outstanding debt over time . seasonal and quarterly variability : our homebuilding operating cycle generally reflects escalating new order activity in the second and third fiscal quarters and increased closings in the third and fourth fiscal quarters . the following tables present new order and closings data for the periods presented : replace_table_token_8_th 28 results of continuing operations the following table summarizes certain key income statement metrics for the periods presented : replace_table_token_9_th ( a ) homebuilding gross margin for fiscal 2019 was impacted by $ 110.0 million of impairments primarily related to impairments recorded in the second quarter for certain projects in progress in california . ( b ) calculated as land sales and other gross profit ( loss ) divided by land sales and other revenue . land sales and other gross margin is shown as a significant negative percentage for fiscal 2019 due to the $ 38.6 million of impairments recorded in the second quarter related to land held for sale assets in california . ( c ) g & a was impacted in fiscal 2017 by a $ 2.7 million charge to write off a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . ( d ) calculated as tax ( benefit ) expense for the period divided by ( loss ) income from continuing operations . due to a variety of factors , including the impact of discrete tax items on our effective tax rate , our income tax ( benefit ) expense is not always directly correlated to the amount of pretax ( loss ) income for the associated periods . 29 homebuilding operations data the following table summarizes net new orders and cancellation rates by reportable segment for the periods presented : replace_table_token_10_th net new orders for the year ended september 30 , 2019 increased to 5,576 , up 0.6 % from the year ended september 30 , 2018. the increase in net new orders was primarily driven by an increase in average active communities to 166 , up from 156 in the prior year . the slight increase also resulted from a lower cancellation rate in fiscal 2019. sales per active community per month were 2.8 for fiscal year 2019 compared to 3.0 for fiscal year 2018 , with no change in the west and slight decreases in the east and southeast segments . story_separator_special_tag future land and lot sales will depend on a variety of factors , including local market conditions , individual community performance , and changing strategic plans . operating ( loss ) income the table below summarizes operating ( loss ) income by reportable segment for the periods presented : replace_table_token_15_th ( a ) operating ( loss ) income for our east segment for the year ended september 30 , 2017 was impacted by a charge to g & a of $ 2.7 million related to the write-off of a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . ( b ) corporate and unallocated operating loss includes amortization of capitalized interest and capitalized indirect costs , expenses related to numerous shared services functions that benefit all segments but are not allocated to the operating segments , and certain other amounts that are not allocated to our operating segments . ( c ) operating ( loss ) income is impacted by impairment and abandonment charges incurred during the periods presented ( see note 5 of the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k ) . our operating income decreased by $ 171.4 million to a loss of $ 89.9 million for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 , compared to income of $ 81.5 million for fiscal 2018 . the decrease was primarily driven by the previously discussed decline in gross profit due to impairment charges recognized during the second quarter of fiscal 2019 , partially offset by lower sg & a costs compared to the prior year . commissions and g & a declined year-over-year as a percentage of total revenue by approximately 10 and 30 basis points . our operating income increased by $ 19.4 million to $ 81.5 million for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2018 , compared to $ 62.1 million for fiscal 2017. the increase was primarily due to a $ 36.1 million increase in homebuilding profit , partially offset by a decrease in land sales and other gross profit , an increase in commissions expense on higher homebuilding revenue , and an increase in g & a costs due to overall business growth . however , commissions and g & a declined year-over-year as a percentage of total revenue by approximately 6 basis points and 44 basis points , respectively . also , as previously discussed , fiscal 2017 included a $ 2.7 million write-off of a deposit on a legacy investment in a development site that we deemed uncollectible . no such write-off was recognized during fiscal 2018. as a percentage of total revenue , our operating income was 3.9 % for fiscal 2018 compared to 3.2 % for fiscal 2017. below operating income , we had two noteworthy fluctuations between fiscal 2019 and fiscal 2018 as follows : ( 1 ) we experienced a decline in other expense , net , primarily attributable to a year-over-year decrease in interest costs not qualified for capitalization ; and ( 2 ) we recorded a loss of $ 24.9 million on the extinguishment of debt as compared to $ 27.8 million in the prior year due to the management of our debt portfolio . see the notes to our consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for additional discussion of these matters . income taxes our income tax assets and liabilities and related effective tax rate are affected by various factors , the most significant of which is the valuation allowance recorded against a portion of our deferred tax assets . due to the effect of our valuation allowance adjustments beginning in fiscal 2008 , a comparison of our annual effective tax rates must consider the changes in our valuation allowance . as such , our effective tax rates have not been meaningful metrics , as our income tax expense/benefit was not directly correlated to the amount of pretax income or loss for the associated periods . beginning in fiscal 2016 , the company began using an annualized effective tax rate in interim periods to determine its income tax expense/benefit , which we believe more closely correlates with our periodic pretax income or loss . the annualized effective tax rate will continue to be impacted by discrete tax items . the income tax benefit recorded during the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 resulted from our loss from operations and the generation of additional federal tax credits . 35 the income tax expense recorded during our fiscal year ended september 30 , 2018 resulted from our income from operations and the remeasurement of deferred tax asset at the newly enacted 21.0 % federal tax rate , partially offset by the generation of federal tax credits and an additional benefit resulting from changes in our valuation allowance . the valuation allowance on all of our federal tax net operating losses and credits as well as portions of our state net losses was reduced due to our determination that it is more likely than not that these assets will be realized . the income tax expense recorded during our fiscal year ended september 30 , 2017 resulted from our income from operations , partially offset by the generation of federal tax credits and an additional benefit resulting from changes in our valuation allowance . our valuation allowance on our state net operating losses was reduced due to an increase in our estimate of utilization related to changes in our uncertain tax positions . refer to note 13 of the notes to consolidated financial statements in this form 10-k for a further discussion of our income taxes and valuation allowance changes . fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 as compared to 2018 west segment : homebuilding revenue increased by 1.3 % for the fiscal year ended september 30 , 2019 compared to the prior fiscal year due to an increase in asp of 2.6 % , partially offset by a 1.2 % decrease in closings

