Fair Value Disclosures (Level 4 inventory fv) (Details 3) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory impairments and write-offs													$ 14,794	$ 13,807	$ 35,709
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Operating communities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Number of Operating Communities Tested	51	53	46	57	59	51	41	43	44	40	52	58
Number of Communities impaired	1	4	6	2	2	2	2	2	3	3	1	4
Fair Value Of Communities Net Of Impairment Charges	$ 6,982	$ 5,965	$ 25,092	$ 8,372	$ 1,126	$ 11,714	$ 10,103	$ 1,713	$ 8,726	$ 13,527	$ 16,235	$ 24,968	6,982	1,126	8,726
Inventory impairments and write-offs	$ 1,500	$ 1,360	$ 2,935	$ 4,000	$ 415	$ 1,250	$ 6,100	$ 600	$ 4,300	$ 6,000	$ 11,100	$ 900	$ 9,795	$ 8,365	$ 22,300