Commitments and Contingencies (Narratives) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended
		Feb. 29, 2016	Feb. 28, 2015	Nov. 30, 2015
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Minimum warranty on electrical and other building systems (in years)		2 years
Maximum warranty on electrical and other building systems (in years)		5 years
Warranty for other components of a home (in years)		1 year
Payments	[1]	$ (4,021)	$ (7,595)
Adjustment to increase warranty liability	[2]	259	3,623
Performance bonds		566,800		$ 565,400
Letters of credit outstanding		32,400		33,400
Cash deposits		42,862		54,537
Aggregate purchase price of land		$ 996,128		$ 1,187,707
Warranty for Other Components of Home		1 year
Damages from Product Defects [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Structural warranty provided by the company (in years)		10 years
Water Intrusion [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payments			$ (4,100)
Warranty Obligations [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Structural warranty provided by the company (in years)		10 years

[1] Payments for the three months ended February 28, 2015 included $4.1 million to repair homes affected by water intrusion-related issues in certain of our communities in central and southwest Florida. These issues were substantially resolved during the year ended November 30, 2015.

[2] Adjustments for the three months ended February 29, 2016 and February 28, 2015 included the reclassification of certain estimated minimum probable recoveries to receivables. The estimated minimum probable recoveries were included in receivables to the extent they exceeded the estimated remaining repair costs in our overall warranty liability with respect to the associated homes. The adjustments for each period had no impact on our consolidated statements of operations.