Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sale of residential units	$ 93,397	$ 66,628
Sale of land and lots	5,940	3,330
Total revenues	99,337	69,958
Cost of residential units	73,761	53,204
Cost of land and lots	4,290	2,340
Total cost of sales	78,051	55,544
Total gross profit	21,286	14,414
Salary expense	(5,435)	(5,093)
Selling, general and administrative expense	(4,278)	(3,894)
Operating profit	11,573	5,427
Other income, net	542	516
Income before provision for income taxes	12,115	5,943
Income tax provision	3,889	1,453
Net income	8,226	4,490
Less: net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	2,029	1,396
Net income attributable to Green Brick Partners, Inc.	$ 6,197	$ 3,094
Net income attributable to Green Brick Partners, Inc. per common share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ 0.06
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.13	$ 0.06
Weighted average common shares used in the calculation of net income attributable to Green Brick Partners, Inc. per common share:
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding —basic (shares)	48,958	48,814
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding —diluted (shares)	49,017	48,814