Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011
Statement of Operations [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 208,875	$ 141,624	$ 510,994	$ 389,638
Land and housing	164,452	116,269	408,893	322,886
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs	1,309	1,697	1,876	18,013
General and administrative	16,016	13,896	42,299	38,064
Selling	14,647	11,213	38,483	30,621
Interest	3,999	3,384	12,066	10,884
Total costs and expenses	200,423	146,459	503,617	420,468
Income (loss) before income taxes	8,452	(4,835)	7,377	(30,830)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	138	(117)	(955)	71
Net income (loss)	$ 8,314	$ (4,718)	$ 8,332	$ (30,901)
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic	$ 0.43	$ (0.25)	$ 0.44	$ (1.65)
Diluted	$ 0.42	$ (0.25)	$ 0.43	$ (1.65)
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding [Abstract]
Basic	19,434	18,728	19,014	18,685
Diluted	20,273	18,728	19,238	18,685