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

Real Estate and Capitalized Interest (Details 2) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011 Communities	Dec. 31, 2010 Communities
Number of communities with real estate inventory impairments & fair value of these communities
Number of Communities Impaired		14	7
Impairment Charges	$ 0	$ 3,913	$ 1,897
Fair Value of Communities Impaired (Carrying Value less Impairments)		39,073	13,073
West [Member]
Number of communities with real estate inventory impairments & fair value of these communities
Number of Communities Impaired		7	1
Impairment Charges		3,408	395
Fair Value of Communities Impaired (Carrying Value less Impairments)		27,621	5,122
Central [Member]
Number of communities with real estate inventory impairments & fair value of these communities
Number of Communities Impaired		6	6
Impairment Charges		150	1,502
Fair Value of Communities Impaired (Carrying Value less Impairments)		9,446	7,951
East [Member]
Number of communities with real estate inventory impairments & fair value of these communities
Number of Communities Impaired		1	0
Impairment Charges		355	0
Fair Value of Communities Impaired (Carrying Value less Impairments)		$ 2,006