Note 6 - Warranty Costs (Details Textual) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)
Aggregate Retention for Construction Defects Warranty and Bodily Injury Claims	$ 21,000	$ 21,000	$ 21,000	$ 21,000
Payments by Insurance Companies for Claims	200	500	200	3,700
Cash Received from Subcontractors for Owner Controlled Insurance Program			1,800	2,000
General Liability Insurance Deductible	20,000	20,000	20,000	20,000
Bodily Injury Insurance Deductible	250	250	250	250
Bodily Injury Insurance Limit	$ 5,000	$ 5,000	$ 5,000	$ 5,000
Homebuilding [Member] \| Northeast [Member]
Number of Construction Defect Claims Settled During the Period				2

Aggregate annual retention for construction defect, warranty and bodily injury claims.

No definition available.

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Annual deductible for bodily injury claims.

No definition available.

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The limit on our deductible for bodily injury claims.

No definition available.

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Amount of cash received from subcontractors for owner controlled insurance program, which we accounted for as a reduction to inventory.

No definition available.

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Annual deductible under our general liability insurance per occurrence for construction defects and warranty claims on homes delivered.

No definition available.

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Represents the number of construction defect claims settled during the period.

No definition available.

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Insurance claims paid by our insurance carriers, excluding insurance deductibles paid.

No definition available.

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Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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