Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Statement of Operations [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 234,553	$ 170,994	$ 425,280	$ 302,119
Land and housing	187,136	137,111	338,649	244,441
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs	1,201	472	2,101	567
General and administrative	18,149	13,826	34,128	26,283
Selling	16,275	12,825	29,384	23,836
Interest	4,397	3,461	8,737	8,067
Total costs and expenses	227,158	167,695	412,999	303,194
Income (loss) before income taxes	7,395	3,299	12,281	(1,075)
Provision (benefit) for income taxes	131	95	430	(1,093)
Net income (loss)	7,264	3,204	11,851	18
Preferred Stock Dividends, Income Statement Impact	1,219	0	1,219	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed	0	0	2,190	0
Net income to common shareholders	$ 6,045	$ 3,204	$ 8,442	$ 18
Earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic	$ 0.25	$ 0.17	$ 0.36	$ 0.00
Diluted	$ 0.25	$ 0.17	$ 0.36	$ 0.00
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding [Abstract]
Basic	24,271	18,833	23,278	18,803
Diluted	24,646	19,031	23,671	18,998