Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Narratives) (Details)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	May 31, 2019 USD ($) lot delivery Rate	May 31, 2018 USD ($) delivery Rate	May 31, 2019 USD ($) property lot delivery Rate	May 31, 2018 USD ($) property delivery Rate	Nov. 30, 2018 USD ($) property
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Number of land parcels or communities evaluated for recoverability | property			24	42
Carrying value of communities or land parcels evaluated for impairment	$ 164,000,000	$ 284,100,000	$ 164,000,000	$ 284,100,000
Inventory impairment charges	3,400,000	6,000,000	6,600,000	10,700,000
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	$ 144,500,000		$ 144,500,000		$ 156,100,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	22		22		22
Minimum [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Average selling price	$ 315,000	$ 339,400	$ 315,000	$ 339,400
Deliveries per month | delivery	4	4	1	3
Minimum [Member] | Measurement Input, Discount Rate [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Discount Rate, Percent | Rate	17.00%	17.00%	17.00%	17.00%
Maximum [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Average selling price	$ 398,500	$ 460,500	$ 1,045,400	$ 774,100
Deliveries per month | delivery	4	5	4	5
Maximum [Member] | Measurement Input, Discount Rate [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Discount Rate, Percent | Rate	17.00%	17.00%	17.00%	18.00%
Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Land option contract abandonment charges	$ 900,000	$ 500,000	$ 1,300,000	$ 800,000