Note 2 - Business	12 Months Ended
Oct. 31, 2014
Disclosure Text Block [Abstract]
Nature of Operations [Text Block]	2. Business Our operations consist of homebuilding, financial services, and corporate. Our homebuilding operations are made up of six reportable segments defined as Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and West. Homebuilding operations comprise the substantial part of our business, representing approximately 98% of consolidated revenues for the year ended October 31, 2014, and approximately 97% for each of the years ended October 31, 2013 and 2012. We are a Delaware corporation, building and selling homes at October 31, 2014 in 201 consolidated new home communities in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. We offer a wide variety of homes that are designed to appeal to first-time buyers, first and second-time move-up buyers, luxury buyers, active adult buyers, and empty nesters. Our financial services operations, which are a reportable segment, provide mortgage banking and title services to the homebuilding operations’ customers. We do not typically retain or service the mortgages that we originate but rather sell the mortgages and related servicing rights to investors. Corporate primarily includes the operations of our corporate office whose primary purpose is to provide executive services, accounting, information services, human resources, management reporting, training, cash management, internal audit, risk management, and administration of process redesign, quality, and safety. See Note 11 “Operating and Reporting Segments” for further disclosure of our reportable segments.

Note 2 - Business

12 Months Ended

Oct. 31, 2014

2. Business

Our operations consist of homebuilding, financial services, and corporate. Our homebuilding operations are made up of six reportable segments defined as Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southeast, Southwest, and West. Homebuilding operations comprise the substantial part of our business, representing approximately 98% of consolidated revenues for the year ended October 31, 2014, and approximately 97% for each of the years ended October 31, 2013 and 2012. We are a Delaware corporation, building and selling homes at October 31, 2014 in 201 consolidated new home communities in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia. We offer a wide variety of homes that are designed to appeal to first-time buyers, first and second-time move-up buyers, luxury buyers, active adult buyers, and empty nesters. Our financial services operations, which are a reportable segment, provide mortgage banking and title services to the homebuilding operations’ customers. We do not typically retain or service the mortgages that we originate but rather sell the mortgages and related servicing rights to investors. Corporate primarily includes the operations of our corporate office whose primary purpose is to provide executive services, accounting, information services, human resources, management reporting, training, cash management, internal audit, risk management, and administration of process redesign, quality, and safety.

See Note 11 “Operating and Reporting Segments” for further disclosure of our reportable segments.