Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	May. 06, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	WLH
Entity Registrant Name	WILLIAM LYON HOMES
Entity Central Index Key	0001095996
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Common stock, Class A
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		27,856,010
Common stock, Class B
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		3,813,884