Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands, ft² in Millions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2017 USD ($) a ft² $ / shares shares	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Rentable square feet of commercial real estate properties (in sq feet) | ft²	31.3
Rentable square feet of commercial real estate properties under development (in sq feet) | ft²	1.2
Undeveloped land suitable for development (in acres) | a	400
Net proceeds of Common Stock sold during the period | $	$ 9,134	$ 50,898
Highwoods Properties, Inc. [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Common Units of partnership owned by the Company (in shares)	101,600,000
Percentage of ownership of Common Units (in hundredths)	97.30%
Common Units redeemed for a like number of common shares of stock (in shares)	2,000
Highwoods Properties, Inc. [Member] | ATM Equity Offering [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Net proceeds of Common Stock sold during the period | $	$ 9,100
Number of Common Stock sold during the period (in shares)	186,185
Average price of Common Stock sold during the period (in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 49.73
Highwoods Properties, Inc. [Member] | ATM Equity Offering [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Net proceeds of Common Stock sold during the period | $	$ 300,000
Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Common Units of partnership not owned by the Company (in shares)	2,800,000