Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Revenue	$ 363,457	$ 330,767	$ 949,472	$ 847,216
Costs and Expenses [Abstract]
Land and housing	285,416	261,636	744,194	666,817
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures	0	622	0	1,426
General and administrative	23,651	21,724	64,690	61,320
Selling	24,270	21,955	64,891	58,175
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures	(36)	(22)	(248)	(62)
Interest	3,658	2,649	11,870	9,549
Total costs and expenses	336,959	308,564	885,397	797,225
Income before income taxes	26,498	22,203	64,075	49,991
Provision for income taxes	10,928	8,586	25,587	10,188
Net income	15,570	13,617	38,488	39,803
Preferred Dividends	1,218	1,218	3,656	3,656
Net income to common shareholders	$ 14,352	$ 12,399	$ 34,832	$ 36,147
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$ 0.58	$ 0.51	$ 1.42	$ 1.48
Diluted	$ 0.51	$ 0.44	$ 1.25	$ 1.30
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding [Abstract]
Basic	24,605	24,474	24,551	24,454
Diluted	30,067	29,921	30,021	29,900