Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended							12 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2011 Impairment	Aug. 31, 2011	May 31, 2011	Feb. 28, 2011	Nov. 30, 2010 Impairment	Aug. 31, 2010	Feb. 28, 2010	Nov. 30, 2011 Lots Property Impairment	Nov. 30, 2010 Lots Property Impairment	Nov. 30, 2009 Lots Property
Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Textual) [Abstract]
Number of Land Parcels or Communities Evaluated for Recoverability								138	118	281
Pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	$ 1,300,000	$ 300,000	$ 20,100,000	$ 1,000,000	$ 1,600,000	$ 1,400,000	$ 6,800,000	$ 22,730,000	$ 9,815,000	$ 120,848,000
Number of land parcels or communities associated with non cash inventory impairment charges								12	8	61
Post impairment fair value of land parcels or communities								34,000,000	11,600,000	129,000,000
Charges related to adjustment to the fair value of real estate								18,100,000
Land Option Contract Abandonment Charges	1,000,000	800,000	500,000	800,000	1,600,000	2,000,000	6,500,000	3,061,000	10,110,000	47,301,000
Number of Lots on which abandonment charges are recognized								830	1,007	1,362
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	$ 338,500,000				$ 418,500,000			$ 338,500,000	$ 418,500,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	53				72			53	72
Remaining useful life in addition to specified useful lives								1 year
Specified period of remaining useful lives								10 years
Expected realization period of inventory minimum								3 years
Expected realization period of inventory maximum								5 years
Maximum [Member]
Discount rate used in estimating discounted cash flow
Discount rate used in estimating discounted cash flow								20.00%	20.00%	21.00%
Minimum [Member]
Discount rate used in estimating discounted cash flow
Discount rate used in estimating discounted cash flow								17.00%	17.00%	12.00%