Fair Value Disclosures (Level 4 inventory fv) (Details 3) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2018 USD ($)	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, 2018 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory impairments and write-offs													$ 35,156	$ 14,794	$ 13,807
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	43	55	65	64	51	53	46	57	59	51	41	43
Number of Communities impaired	6	5	4	5	1	4	6	2	2	2	2	2
Fair Value Of Communities Net Of Impairment Charges	$ 24,692	$ 43,063	$ 21,811	$ 13,318	$ 6,982	$ 5,965	$ 25,092	$ 8,372	$ 1,126	$ 11,714	$ 10,103	$ 1,713	24,692	6,982	1,126
Inventory impairments and write-offs	$ 4,025	$ 9,065	$ 13,325	$ 3,736	$ 1,500	$ 1,360	$ 2,935	$ 4,000	$ 415	$ 1,250	$ 6,100	$ 600	$ 30,151	$ 9,795	$ 8,365