Investments in and Advances to Unconsolidated Entities (Details Textual) (USD $)	3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		3 Months Ended					3 Months Ended													3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2014	Jan. 31, 2013	Feb. 03, 2014	Oct. 31, 2013	Jan. 31, 2014 Development Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Development Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Development Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Development Joint Venture (two) [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Development Joint Venture (three) [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Development Joint Venture (four) [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Development Joint Venture (four) [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Baker Ranch [Member]	Oct. 31, 2012 Baker Ranch [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Homebuilding Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Homebuilding Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Homebuilding Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Rental Joint Ventures, Total [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Rental Joint Ventures, JVs with new borrowings [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Retail Joint Venture - two [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Retail Joint Venture - two [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Retail Joint Venture, one [Member]	Apr. 30, 2013 Retail Joint Venture, one [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Trust I [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Trust I [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Trust II [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Structured Asset Joint Venture [Member]	Jan. 31, 2013 Structured Asset Joint Venture [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Structured Asset Joint Venture [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Corporate Joint Venture [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Joint Ventures, variable interest entities [Member]	Oct. 31, 2013 Joint Ventures, variable interest entities [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Minimum [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 Maximum [Member]
Investments in and Advances to Unconsolidated Entities (Textual) [Abstract]
Investments in and advances to unconsolidated entities	$ 430,615,000			$ 403,133,000	$ 157,293,000		$ 142,448,000	$ 20,300,000	$ 40,600,000	$ 11,900,000		$ 78,200,000		$ 175,904,000		$ 166,271,000			$ 14,600,000		$ 25,500,000		$ (900,000)		$ 6,400,000	$ 22,575,000		$ 25,703,000		$ 27,100,000	$ 22,900,000
Funding Commitments	76,894,000				26,000,000			12,500,000				10,000,000		27,600,000			23,300,000				4,900,000									37,700,000	41,700,000
Number of lots committed to purchase	115
Aggregate Purchase Commitments Unconsolidated Entities that the Company has Investments in	12,552,000			61,738,000
Number of joint venture with funding commitments					3									2
Number of joint ventures with loan commitments					2												4	2
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity					105,000,000			25,000,000	40,000,000			80,000,000.00					319,800,000	126,000,000	54,000,000		120,000,000								424,800,000
Number of acres owned by venture										945
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	0		370,000,000		73,200,000			24,800,000				48,400,000					16,600,000	0	0		0								89,800,000
Number of Units in Real Estate Property														640					287
Number of floors in apartment building																					38
Maximum amount of line of credit commitment								40,000,000
Guarantor Obligations, Term																																22 months	48 months
Guarantor Obligations, Maximum Exposure, Undiscounted	424,750,000
Owned by Third Party									50.00%														33.30%		50.00%
Income (Loss) from Equity Method Investments	22,915,000	3,083,000			(32,000)	(98,000)								182,000	710,000										23,500,000	(985,000)	1,913,000
Proceeds from Equity Method Investment, Dividends or Distributions	22,143,000	2,413,000																							20,000,000
Land sales, net	6,258,000	145,000																							2,900,000
Percentage ownership held by company								50.00%	50.00%	50.00%		50.00%							50.00%		50.00%		33.30%		50.00%
Percent owned by Company's Management																							33.30%
Transfer of Inventory to Investment	700,000																			27,100,000		28,800,000
Aggregate Purchase Commitments Unrelated Parties	1,155,798,000			1,301,987,000					79,300,000
Proceeds from Equity Method Investment, Dividends or Distributions	32,429,000	17,311,000																		12,500,000	10,200,000
Venture payment to align capital accounts																					1,150,000
Contribution of cash to joint venture								15,500,000			11,800,000
unimproved lots controlled by JV								2,900	6,500	1,300		1,200	2,000
Number of lots to be acquired from joint venture	3,800
Management fee income	1,227,000	327,000																					600,000	600,000
Joint Venture Description	Investments in 50% or less owned partnerships and affiliates are accounted for using the equity method unless it is determined that the Company has effective control of the entity, in which case the entity would be consolidated.																									is a 20% participant with two unrelated parties that purchased a 40% interest in an entity that owns and controls a portfolio of loans and real estate
Maxiumum guarantor obigation for borrowings by JVs	89,800,000
Ground lease and other, guarantee	11,512,000																													9,463,000	9,563,000
Number of JVs, ground lease and other	3
Guarantees, Fair Value Disclosure	$ 2,011,000
variable interest entity, number of entities, not primary beneficiary																														3