Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Revenue									$ 1,961,971	$ 1,691,327	$ 1,418,395
Land and housing									1,561,022	1,358,183	1,114,663
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									7,681	3,992	3,638
General and administrative									126,282	111,600	93,208
Selling									128,327	108,809	95,092
Equity in income of joint venture arrangements									(539)	(640)	(498)
Interest									18,874	17,598	17,521
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									0	0	7,842
Total costs and expenses									1,841,647	1,599,542	1,331,466
Income before income taxes									120,324	91,785	86,929
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									48,243	35,176	35,166
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									72,081	56,609	51,763
Preferred dividends									3,656	4,875	4,875
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									2,257	0	0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders	$ 15,882	$ 18,852	$ 15,770	$ 15,664	$ 19,343	$ 9,724	$ 14,697	$ 7,970	66,168	51,734	46,888
Consolidation, Eliminations [Member]
Revenue									0	0	0
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income of joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt											0
Total costs and expenses									0	0	0
Income before income taxes									0	0	0
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									0	0	0
Equity in subsidiaries									(72,081)	(56,609)	(51,763)
Net income									(72,081)	(56,609)	(51,763)
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									(72,081)	(56,609)	(51,763)
Parent Company [Member]
Revenue									0	0	0
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income of joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt											0
Total costs and expenses									0	0	0
Income before income taxes									0	0	0
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									0	0	0
Equity in subsidiaries									72,081	56,609	51,763
Net income									72,081	56,609	51,763
Preferred dividends									3,656	4,875	4,875
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									2,257
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									66,168	51,734	46,888
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									1,912,278	1,649,316	1,382,420
Land and housing									1,561,022	1,358,183	1,114,663
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									7,681	3,992	3,638
General and administrative									103,094	92,135	77,662
Selling									128,327	108,809	95,092
Equity in income of joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									16,117	15,486	15,905
Loss on early extinguishment of debt											7,842
Total costs and expenses									1,816,241	1,578,605	1,314,802
Income before income taxes									96,037	70,711	67,618
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									40,570	28,161	28,758
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									55,467	42,550	38,860
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									55,467	42,550	38,860
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									49,693	42,011	35,975
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
General and administrative									23,188	19,465	15,546
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income of joint venture arrangements									(539)	(640)	(498)
Interest									2,757	2,112	1,616
Loss on early extinguishment of debt											0
Total costs and expenses									25,406	20,937	16,664
Income before income taxes									24,287	21,074	19,311
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									7,673	7,015	6,408
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									16,614	14,059	12,903
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									$ 16,614	$ 14,059	$ 12,903