Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015
Revenue	$ 401,247	$ 322,856	$ 725,617	$ 586,015
Costs and Expenses [Abstract]
Land and housing	319,708	252,595	579,880	458,778
General and administrative	26,830	21,705	49,089	41,039
Selling	25,533	22,935	47,799	40,621
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures	(82)	(14)	(389)	(212)
Interest	4,308	3,750	9,573	8,212
Total costs and expenses	376,297	300,971	685,952	548,438
Income before income taxes	24,950	21,885	39,665	37,577
Provision for income taxes	9,034	8,535	14,560	14,659
Net income	15,916	13,350	25,105	22,918
Preferred Dividends	1,219	1,219	2,438	2,438
Net income to common shareholders	$ 14,697	$ 12,131	$ 22,667	$ 20,480
Earnings per common share:
Basic	$ 0.60	$ 0.49	$ 0.92	$ 0.84
Diluted	$ 0.52	$ 0.43	$ 0.81	$ 0.74
Weighted Average Number of Shares Outstanding [Abstract]
Basic	24,669	24,531	24,663	24,523
Diluted	30,077	30,023	30,055	30,002