Commitments and Contingencies (Narratives) (Details) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
		May 31, 2016 USD ($)	May 31, 2015 USD ($)	May 31, 2016 USD ($) Home		May 31, 2015 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2015 USD ($)
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]	$ (8,446)	$ (7,047)	$ (12,467)		$ (14,642)
Adjustment to increase warranty liability	[2]	393	3,411	652		7,034
Performance bonds		533,800		533,800			$ 565,400
Letters of credit outstanding		35,000		35,000			33,400
Cash deposits		47,392		47,392			54,537
Aggregate purchase price of land		957,514		$ 957,514			$ 1,187,707
Warranty for Other Components of Home				1 year
Product Liability Contingency, Third Party Recovery Included In Warranty Liability				$ 0
Income Statement Location [Domain]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Adjustment to increase warranty liability		$ 0	0	$ 0	[2]	0
Damages from Product Defects [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Minimum Number of Affected Homes for Construction Defect Claims | Home				2
Structural warranty provided by the company (in years)				10 years
Water Intrusion [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payments			$ (3,400)			$ (7,500)
Warranty Obligations [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Structural warranty provided by the company (in years)				10 years

[1] Payments for the three months and six months ended May 31, 2015 included $3.4 million and $7.5 million, respectively, to repair homes affected by water intrusion-related issues in certain of our communities in central and southwest Florida. These issues were substantially resolved as of November 30, 2015.

[2] Adjustments for the three months and six months ended May 31, 2016 and 2015 included the reclassification of certain estimated minimum probable recoveries to receivables in connection with the above-noted water intrusion-related issues. The adjustments for each period had no impact on our consolidated statements of operations. There were no estimated minimum probable recoveries netted against our warranty liability at May 31, 2016.