Loans Payable, Senior Notes and Mortgage Company Loan Facility Term Loan Facility and 364-Day Facility (Details Textual 1) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2014	Jul. 31, 2014 Five year term note [Member]	Feb. 03, 2014 Five year term note [Member]	Jul. 31, 2014 three hundred sixty four day senior uncedured revolving credit facility [Member]	Feb. 04, 2014 three hundred sixty four day senior uncedured revolving credit facility [Member]	Jul. 31, 2014 Subsidiary Issuer [Member]	Feb. 03, 2014 Shapell [Member] Five year term note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Maturity Period		5 years
Interest above fed funds rate	0.50%
Long-term Debt							$ 485,000,000
Number of banks included in Credit Facility			10		5
Line of Credit Facility, term of contract				364 days
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding				0
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity					$ 500,000,000
Percent of interest above Libor	1.00%
Percent interest added when euro rate option selected	0.25%
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate at Period End		1.81%
Noncontrolling Interest, Ownership Percentage by Parent						100.00%