Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Details)		12 Months Ended
		Nov. 30, 2018 USD ($) delivery property	Nov. 30, 2017 USD ($) delivery community property	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($) delivery community property
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		$ 26,104,000	$ 20,605,000	$ 49,580,000
Acquisition Costs Related To Land Option Contracts And Other Similar Contracts		46,900,000	26,800,000
Carrying Value of Communities of Land Parcels Evaluated for Impairment		$ 356,100,000	$ 456,900,000	$ 423,100,000
Number of land parcels or communities associated with non cash inventory impairment charges | property			13	10
Number of land parcels or communities evaluated for recoverability | property		57	51	68
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges			$ 156,100,000	$ 177,800,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges | community			22	24
Expected realization period of inventory maximum		5 years
Estimate of Fair Value Measurement
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Assets, Fair Value Disclosure			$ 44,100,000	$ 38,400,000
Minimum
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Fair Value Estimate Input at Average Selling Price	[1]	$ 291,300	$ 207,100	$ 216,200
Fair Value Estimate Input at Sales for Period | delivery	[1]	2	1	1
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	[1]	17.00%	17.00%	17.00%
Expected realization period of inventory maximum		1 year
Maximum
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Fair Value Estimate Input at Average Selling Price	[1]	$ 774,100	$ 1,576,500	$ 977,400
Fair Value Estimate Input at Sales for Period | delivery	[1]	6	4	4
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	[1]	19.00%	18.00%	20.00%
Expected realization period of inventory maximum		10 years
Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		$ 2,890,000	$ 4,627,000	$ 3,232,000
West Coast [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		19,169,000	13,482,000	8,209,000
West Coast [Member] | Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		1,212,000	3,225,000	769,000
Southeast [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate		5,472,000	3,678,000	27,547,000
Southeast [Member] | Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Loss on Contract Termination		$ 151,000	$ 556,000	1,750,000
Land Held for Future Development [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate				12,900,000
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.