Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Details)		12 Months Ended
		Nov. 30, 2017 USD ($) property lot community delivery	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($) property lot community delivery	Nov. 30, 2015 USD ($) property lot delivery
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		$ 20,605,000	$ 49,580,000	$ 8,030,000
Acquisition Costs Related To Land Option Contracts And Other Similar Contracts		26,800,000	56,000,000
Carrying Value of Communities of Land Parcels Evaluated for Impairment		$ 456,900,000	$ 423,100,000	$ 286,300,000
Number of land parcels or communities associated with non cash inventory impairment charges | property		10	30	4
Number of land parcels or communities evaluated for recoverability | property		51	68	35
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges		$ 177,800,000	$ 215,300,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges | community		24	28
Number of Lots on which abandonment charges are recognized | lot		710	744	1,166
Remaining useful life in addition to specified useful lives		1 year
Specified period of remaining useful lives		10 years
Expected realization period of inventory maximum		5 years
Estimate of Fair Value Measurement [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure		$ 38,400,000	$ 39,500,000	$ 12,000,000
Minimum
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Fair Value Estimate Input at Average Selling Price	[1]	$ 207,100	$ 216,200	$ 178,100
Fair Value Estimate Input at Sales for Period | delivery	[1]	1	1	2
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	[1]	17.00%	17.00%	17.00%
Maximum
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Fair Value Estimate Input at Average Selling Price	[1]	$ 1,576,500	$ 977,400	$ 509,400
Fair Value Estimate Input at Sales for Period | delivery	[1]	4	4	4
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	[1]	18.00%	20.00%	20.00%
Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		$ 4,627,000	$ 3,232,000	$ 1,561,000
West Coast [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		$ 13,482,000	8,209,000	645,000
Number of land parcels or communities associated with non cash inventory impairment charges | property		1
West Coast [Member] | Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		$ 3,225,000	769,000	352,000
Southeast [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		3,678,000	27,547,000	4,132,000
Southeast [Member] | Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		$ 556,000	1,750,000	$ 984,000
Land Held for Future Development [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate			12,900,000
Number of land parcels or communities associated with non cash inventory impairment charges | property		9
Metro Washington, D.C. [Member] | Southeast [Member] | Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination			1,400,000
Metro Washington, D.C. [Member] | Land [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate			$ 36,700,000

[1] The ranges of inputs used in each period primarily reflect differences between the housing markets where each impacted community is located, rather than fluctuations in prevailing market conditions.