Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Revenue	$ 722,485	$ 567,842	$ 558,098	$ 437,857	$ 621,702	$ 476,423	$ 456,866	$ 406,980	$ 2,286,282	$ 1,961,971	$ 1,691,327
Land and housing									1,836,704	1,561,022	1,358,183
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									5,809	7,681	3,992
Acquisition and integration costs									1,700	0	0
General and administrative									137,779	126,282	111,600
Selling									142,829	128,327	108,809
Equity in income from joint venture arrangements									(312)	(539)	(640)
Interest									20,484	18,874	17,598
Total costs and expenses									2,144,993	1,841,647	1,599,542
Income before income taxes									141,289	120,324	91,785
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									33,626	48,243	35,176
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									107,663	72,081	56,609
Preferred dividends									0	3,656	4,875
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									0	2,257	0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders	$ 32,407	$ 29,282	$ 27,911	$ 18,063	$ 15,882	$ 18,852	$ 15,770	$ 15,664	107,663	66,168	51,734
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
Acquisition and integration costs									0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income from joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	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									(107,663)	(72,081)	(56,609)
Net income									(107,663)	(72,081)	(56,609)
Preferred dividends										0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed										0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders										(72,081)	(56,609)
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
Acquisition and integration costs									0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income from joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	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									107,663	72,081	56,609
Net income									107,663	72,081	56,609
Preferred dividends										3,656	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
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									2,234,086	1,912,278	1,649,316
Land and housing									1,836,704	1,561,022	1,358,183
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									5,809	7,681	3,992
Acquisition and integration costs									1,700
General and administrative									112,225	103,094	92,135
Selling									142,829	128,327	108,809
Equity in income from joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Interest									17,215	16,117	15,486
Total costs and expenses									2,116,482	1,816,241	1,578,605
Income before income taxes									117,604	96,037	70,711
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									28,545	40,570	28,161
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									89,059	55,467	42,550
Preferred dividends										0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed										0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders										55,467	42,550
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									52,196	49,693	42,011
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in joint venture arrangements									0	0	0
Acquisition and integration costs									0
General and administrative									25,554	23,188	19,465
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income from joint venture arrangements									(312)	(539)	(640)
Interest									3,269	2,757	2,112
Total costs and expenses									28,511	25,406	20,937
Income before income taxes									23,685	24,287	21,074
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									5,081	7,673	7,015
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									$ 18,604	16,614	14,059
Preferred dividends										0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed										0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders										$ 16,614	$ 14,059