Inventories (Schedule of Capitalized Interest Costs) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended				6 Months Ended
	May 31, 2013		May 31, 2012		May 31, 2013		May 31, 2012
Interest Costs
Capitalized interest at beginning of period	$ 217,161		$ 234,917		$ 217,684		$ 233,461
Interest incurred	34,489	[1]	29,609	[1]	67,911	[1]	60,020	[1]
Interest Expense	(14,507)	[1]	(14,469)	[1]	(29,747)	[1]	(30,755)	[1]
Interest amortized to construction and land costs	(21,566)		(15,025)		(40,271)		(27,694)
Capitalized interest at end of period	215,577	[2]	235,032	[2]	215,577	[2]	235,032	[2]
Loss on early extinguishment of debt					$ 0		$ (2,003)

[1] Amounts for the six months ended May 31, 2012 include a $2.0 million loss on the early extinguishment of debt.

[2] Inventory impairment charges are recognized against all inventory costs of a community, such as land, land development, cost of home construction and capitalized interest. Capitalized interest amounts presented in the table reflect the gross amount of capitalized interest as impairment charges recognized are not generally allocated to specific components of inventory.