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           Senior, Senior Subordinated, Convertible Senior Notes (Tables) 
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           Dec. 31, 2014 
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| Debt Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Components of senior and senior subordinated notes | 
 Loans payable and other borrowings consist of the following (in thousands): 
 
(1)     Reflects balance of non-recourse notes payable in connection with land purchases, with interest rates ranging from 0% to 6%.
 
Senior and convertible senior notes consist of the following (in thousands): 
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| Scheduled principal maturities of senior, senior subordinated and convertible notes | 
 
Scheduled principal maturities of our senior and senior convertible notes as of December 31, 2014 follow (in thousands): 
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- Definition 
          Tabular disclosure of long-debt instruments or arrangements, including identification, terms, features, collateral requirements and other information necessary to a fair presentation. These are debt arrangements that originally required repayment more than twelve months after issuance or greater than the normal operating cycle of the entity, if longer. Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef 
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- Definition 
          Tabular disclosure of the combined aggregate amount of maturities and sinking fund requirements for all long-term borrowings for each of the five years following the date of the latest balance sheet date presented. Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef 
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