Document And Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	May. 05, 2016
Entity Registrant Name	CalAtlantic Group, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000878560
Trading Symbol	caa
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		118,366,342
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Amendment Flag	false