Meritage Homes Corporation Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Stock Based and Deferred Compensation (Tables)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Below is a summary of compensation expense and stock award activity (in thousands):



	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2015		2014
Stock-based compensation expense	$	4,630	$	2,411
Non-vested shares granted	388,787		355,283
Performance-based non-vested shares granted	66,187		52,083
Stock options exercised	143,440		40,245
Restricted stock awards vested (includes performance-based awards)	326,070		300,170

The following table includes additional information regarding our Plan (dollars in thousands):



	As of
	March 31, 2015		December 31, 2014
Unrecognized stock-based compensation cost	$	31,410	$	20,577
Weighted average years expense recognition period	2.91		2.11
Total equity awards outstanding (1)	1,203,218		1,255,714

(1) Includes options outstanding and unvested restricted stock and performance-based awards and restricted stock units.