Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Revenue	$ 263,159	$ 234,841
Land and housing	206,183	183,964
General and administrative	19,334	18,315
Selling	17,686	15,969
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	(198)	(62)
Interest	4,462	4,170
Total costs and expenses	247,467	222,356
Income before income taxes	15,692	12,485
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	6,124	(147)
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0
Net income (loss)	9,568	12,632
Preferred Dividends	1,219	1,219
Net income to common shareholders	8,349	11,413
Parent [Member]
Revenue	0	0
Land and housing	0	0
General and administrative	0	0
Selling	0	0
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0
Interest	0	0
Total costs and expenses	0	0
Income before income taxes	0	0
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0
Equity In subsidiaries	9,568	12,632
Net income (loss)	9,568	12,632
Preferred Dividends	1,219	1,219
Net income to common shareholders	8,349	11,413
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue	255,062	226,976
Land and housing	206,183	183,964
General and administrative	16,386	15,291
Selling	17,686	15,969
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0
Interest	4,131	3,854
Total costs and expenses	244,386	219,078
Income before income taxes	10,676	7,898
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	4,392	(1,781)
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0
Net income (loss)	6,284	9,679
Preferred Dividends	0	0
Net income to common shareholders	6,284	9,679
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue	8,097	7,865
Land and housing	0	0
General and administrative	2,948	3,024
Selling	0	0
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	(198)	(62)
Interest	331	316
Total costs and expenses	3,081	3,278
Income before income taxes	5,016	4,587
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	1,732	1,634
Equity In subsidiaries	0	0
Net income (loss)	3,284	2,953
Preferred Dividends	0	0
Net income to common shareholders	3,284	2,953
Corporate Elimination [Member]
Revenue	0	0
Land and housing	0	0
General and administrative	0	0
Selling	0	0
Equity in loss (income) of unconsolidated joint ventures	0	0
Interest	0	0
Total costs and expenses	0	0
Income before income taxes	0	0
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	0	0
Equity In subsidiaries	(9,568)	(12,632)
Net income (loss)	(9,568)	(12,632)
Preferred Dividends	0	0
Net income to common shareholders	$ (9,568)	$ (12,632)