| 
           Real Estate and Capitalized Interest (Details) (USD $) 
        In Thousands, unless otherwise specified  | 
        
           Sep. 30, 2014 
         | 
        
           Dec. 31, 2013 
         | 
      ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real Estate Properties | ||||||||
| Finished home sites and home sites under development | $ 1,041,108 | [1] | $ 913,236 | [1] | ||||
| Real estate | 1,865,051 | 1,405,299 | ||||||
| 
           Homes under contract [Member] 
         | 
        ||||||||
| Homes under contract under construction | 440,033 | [2] | 262,633 | [2] | ||||
| 
           Speculative homes not under contract [Member] 
         | 
        ||||||||
| Homes under contract under construction | 283,883 | [2] | 147,889 | [2] | ||||
| 
           Model homes [Member] 
         | 
        ||||||||
| Homes under contract under construction | $ 100,027 | [2] | $ 81,541 | [2] | ||||
          
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