Notes Payable (Narratives) (Details)	3 Months Ended
	Feb. 28, 2018 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Feb. 28, 2017 USD ($) shares	Nov. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2017 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt Issuance Costs, Net	$ 14,000,000		$ 15,400,000
Line of Credit Facility, Current Borrowing Capacity				$ 500,000,000
Letters of credit outstanding	$ 36,900,000		37,600,000
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Conversion of Debt Securities (in shares) | shares	0	8,402,000
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt	$ 0	$ (5,685,000)
Notes and Loans Payable	2,359,570,000		2,324,845,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months	300,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two	673,500,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three	350,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four	0
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five	800,000,000
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five	250,000,000
Inventories pledged to collateralize mortgages and land contracts, carrying value	$ 130,900,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured revolving credit facility, expiration date	Jul. 27, 2021
Unsecured revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 600,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	0
Unsecured revolving credit facility, remaining borrowing capacity	$ 463,100,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, unused capacity, commitment fee percentage	0.30%
Revolving Credit Facility [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of credit facility, unused capacity, commitment fee percentage	0.45%
Letter of Credit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Unsecured revolving credit facility, maximum borrowing capacity	$ 250,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding	36,900,000
Unsecured revolving credit facility, remaining borrowing capacity	213,100,000
LOC Facilities [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Letters of credit outstanding	0		0
Mortgages and Land Contracts Due to Land Sellers and Other Loans [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 43,538,000		$ 10,203,000
Convertible Notes Payable [Member] | Convertible Senior Notes Due Two Thousand Nineteen At One Point Three Seven Five Percent [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	1.375%		1.375%
Debt instrument, conversion ratio	0.0365297
Debt instrument, convertible, conversion price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 27.37
Incremental Common Shares Attributable to Dilutive Effect of Conversion of Debt Securities (in shares) | shares	8,401,831
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 228,874,000		$ 228,572,000
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior notes due June 15, 2018 at 7 1/4%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	7.25%		7.25%
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 299,924,000		$ 299,867,000
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior Notes Due Two Thousand Nineteen at Four Point Seven Five Percent [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	4.75%		4.75%
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 398,663,000		$ 398,397,000
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior notes due March 15, 2020 at 8.00%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	8.00%		8.00%
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 346,614,000		$ 346,238,000
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior notes due September 15, 2022 at 7.50%
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	7.50%		7.50%
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 347,355,000		$ 347,234,000
Senior Notes [Member] | Senior Notes Due Two Thousand Twenty Three At Seven Point Six Two Five Percent [Domain]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior notes, rate	7.625%		7.625%
Notes and Loans Payable	$ 247,811,000		$ 247,726,000