Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Narratives) (Details)		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		Aug. 31, 2019 USD ($) lot delivery Rate	Aug. 31, 2018 USD ($) delivery Rate	Aug. 31, 2019 USD ($) property lot delivery Rate	Aug. 31, 2018 USD ($) 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				31	47
Carrying value of communities or land parcels evaluated for impairment		$ 219,200,000	$ 303,500,000	$ 219,200,000	$ 303,500,000
Inventory impairment charges		4,800,000	7,100,000	11,500,000	17,800,000
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges		$ 134,700,000		$ 134,700,000		$ 156,100,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges		21		21		22
Minimum [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Average selling price	[1]	$ 325,300	$ 306,400	$ 315,000	$ 306,400
Deliveries per month | delivery	[1]	2	2	1	2
Minimum [Member] | Measurement Input, Discount Rate [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Discount Rate, Percent | Rate	[1]	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	[1]	$ 957,200	$ 407,300	$ 1,045,400	$ 774,100
Deliveries per month | delivery	[1]	4	6	4	6
Maximum [Member] | Measurement Input, Discount Rate [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items] (Deprecated 2018-01-31)
Discount Rate, Percent | Rate	[1]	17.00%	18.00%	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		$ 400,000	$ 1,300,000	$ 1,700,000	$ 2,100,000

[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.