Inventory And Land Held For Sale Inventory and Land Held for Sale (Land-related Charges) (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Land impairments	$ 3,911us-gaap_ImpairmentOfRealEstate	$ 2,944us-gaap_ImpairmentOfRealEstate	$ 13,437us-gaap_ImpairmentOfRealEstate
Net realizable value adjustments (NRV) - land held for sale	1,158	3,606	1,480
Write-off of deposits and pre-acquisition costs	6,099	3,122	2,278
Total land-related charges	$ 11,168	$ 9,672	$ 17,195

Charge against earnings in the period to reduce the current value of land held for sale to its fair value.

No definition available.

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Write Off Of Deposits And Pre Acquisition Costs

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	phm_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
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- Definition

The charge against earnings in the period to reduce the carrying amount of real property to fair value.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 230

-SubTopic 10

-Section 45

-Paragraph 28

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=31042434&loc=d3e3602-108585

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 360

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (b)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6391110&loc=d3e2921-110230

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ImpairmentOfRealEstate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
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- Definition

Nonrecurring impairment charges related to the write-off of production-related equipment and inventory. This tag is used when an Entity charges this cost to cost of goods sold.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 225

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 2

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.2(a))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=26872669&loc=d3e20235-122688

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ProductionRelatedImpairmentsOrCharges
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration