Meritage Homes Corporation Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

STOCK BASED AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION - Narrative (Details)

v3.3.1.900

STOCK BASED AND DEFERRED COMPENSATION - Narrative (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended			72 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock authorized under stock compensation plan	4,150,000			4,150,000
Remaining shares available for grant	1,145,923			1,145,923
Stock options granted (in shares)	0	0	0	0
Total intrinsic value of options exercises	$ 3,500,000	$ 1,700,000	$ 4,800,000
Deferred compensation plan expense	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Employees [Member] \| Non-vested stock awards [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period for non-vested stock awards and stock options	3 years
Employees [Member] \| Non-vested stock awards [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period for non-vested stock awards and stock options	5 years
Senior executive officers and non-employee directors [Member] \| Non-vested stock and performance-based awards [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Vesting period for non-vested stock awards and stock options	3 years

- Definition

The compensation expense recognized during the period pertaining to the deferred compensation arrangement.

+ References

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-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 718
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-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
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- Definition

Period which an employee's right to exercise an award is no longer contingent on satisfaction of either a service condition, market condition or a performance condition, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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- Definition

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+ References

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- Definition

The difference between the maximum number of shares (or other type of equity) authorized for issuance under the plan (including the effects of amendments and adjustments), and the sum of: 1) the number of shares (or other type of equity) already issued upon exercise of options or other equity-based awards under the plan; and 2) shares (or other type of equity) reserved for issuance on granting of outstanding awards, net of cancellations and forfeitures, if applicable.

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- Definition

Amount of accumulated difference between fair value of underlying shares on dates of exercise and exercise price on options exercised (or share units converted) into shares.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
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- Definition

Gross number of share options (or share units) granted during the period.

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