Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013
Revenue	$ 281,608	$ 234,553	$ 516,449	$ 425,280
Land and housing	221,217	187,136	405,181	338,649
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	804	1,201	804	2,101
General and administrative	21,281	18,149	39,596	34,128
Selling	20,251	16,275	36,220	29,384
Interest	2,730	4,397	6,900	8,737
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	22	0	(40)	0
Total costs and expenses	266,305	227,158	488,661	412,999
Income before income taxes	15,303	7,395	27,788	12,281
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	1,749	131	1,602	430
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Net income (loss)	13,554	7,264	26,186	11,851
Preferred Dividends	1,219	1,219	2,438	1,219
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed	0	0	0	2,190
Net income to common shareholders	12,335	6,045	23,748	8,442
Parent [Member]
Revenue	0	0	0	0
Land and housing	0	0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0	0	0
General and administrative	0	0	0	0
Selling	0	0	0	0
Interest	0	0	0	0
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0		0
Total costs and expenses	0	0	0	0
Income before income taxes	0	0	0	0
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0	0	0
Equity In subsidiaries	13,554	7,264	26,186	11,851
Net income (loss)	13,554	7,264	26,186	11,851
Preferred Dividends	1,219	1,219	2,438	1,219
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed				2,190
Net income to common shareholders	12,335	6,045	23,748	8,442
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue	275,138	227,301	502,114	409,618
Land and housing	221,217	187,136	405,181	338,649
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	804	1,201	804	2,101
General and administrative	18,057	14,953	33,348	27,795
Selling	20,251	16,246	36,220	29,338
Interest	2,428	4,062	6,282	8,084
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0		0
Total costs and expenses	262,757	223,598	481,835	405,967
Income before income taxes	12,381	3,703	20,279	3,651
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	344	(1,199)	(1,437)	(2,614)
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Net income (loss)	12,037	4,902	21,716	6,265
Preferred Dividends	0	0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed				0
Net income to common shareholders	12,037	4,902	21,716	6,265
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue	6,470	7,252	14,335	15,662
Land and housing	0	0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0	0	0
General and administrative	3,224	3,196	6,248	6,333
Selling	0	29	0	46
Interest	302	335	618	653
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	22		(40)
Total costs and expenses	3,548	3,560	6,826	7,032
Income before income taxes	2,922	3,692	7,509	8,630
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	1,405	1,330	3,039	3,044
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0	0	0
Net income (loss)	1,517	2,362	4,470	5,586
Preferred Dividends	0	0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed				0
Net income to common shareholders	1,517	2,362	4,470	5,586
Corporate Elimination [Member]
Revenue	0	0	0	0
Land and housing	0	0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0	0	0
General and administrative	0	0	0	0
Selling	0	0	0	0
Interest	0	0	0	0
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0		0
Total costs and expenses	0	0	0	0
Income before income taxes	0	0	0	0
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0	0	0
Equity In subsidiaries	(13,554)	(7,264)	(26,186)	(11,851)
Net income (loss)	(13,554)	(7,264)	(26,186)	(11,851)
Preferred Dividends	0	0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed				0
Net income to common shareholders	$ (13,554)	$ (7,264)	$ (26,186)	$ (11,851)