Inventory And Land Held For Sale Inventory and Land Held for Sale (Land-related Charges) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Net realizable value adjustments (NRV) - land held for sale	$ 0	$ 107	$ 19
Land impairments	19,603	2,990	0
Write-off of deposits and pre-acquisition costs	23,512	63,559	12,283
Total land-related charges	$ 43,115	$ 66,656	$ 12,302

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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Namespace Prefix:	phm_
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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
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- 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/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482740/230-10-45-28

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147482099/360-10-50-2

+ Details

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

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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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://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03.2(a))
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org//1943274/2147483621/220-10-S99-2

+ Details

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