Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2011
REVENUES
Income from real property	$ 64,296,000	$ 53,836,000
Revenue from home sales	9,613,000	8,235,000
Rental home revenue	6,291,000	5,330,000
Ancillary revenues, net	263,000	294,000
Interest	2,405,000	2,068,000
Other income (loss), net	260,000	(49,000)
Total revenues	83,128,000	69,714,000
COSTS AND EXPENSES
Property operating and maintenance	16,026,000	13,458,000
Real estate taxes	4,872,000	4,115,000
Cost of home sales	7,773,000	6,491,000
Rental home operating and maintenance	3,824,000	3,673,000
General and administrative - real property	5,058,000	4,478,000
General and administrative - home sales and rentals	2,209,000	1,973,000
Acquisition related costs	164,000	249,000
Depreciation and amortization	19,868,000	16,679,000
Interest	16,797,000	15,406,000
Interest on mandatorily redeemable debt	841,000	826,000
Total expenses	77,432,000	67,348,000
Income before income taxes and distributions from affiliates	5,696,000	2,366,000
Provision for state income taxes	(53,000)	(131,000)
State and Local Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Continuing Operations	100,000	100,000
Distributions from affiliates	750,000	350,000
Net income	6,393,000	2,585,000
Less: Preferred return to Preferred OP units	579,000	0
Less: Amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests	437,000	185,000
Net income attributable to Sun Communities, Inc. common stockholders	$ 5,377,000	$ 2,400,000
Weighted average common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	25,587	20,808
Diluted (in shares)	25,605	22,902
Basic and diluted loss per share:
Basic	$ 0.21	$ 0.12
Diluted	$ 0.21	$ 0.11
Dividends per common share:	$ 0.63	$ 0.63