SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Investment in Real Estate) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Developments
Land & improvements	$ 182,843	$ 164,280
Development costs	728,984	667,228
Condominium rights	125,100	82,795
Total Developments	$ 1,036,927	$ 914,303
Minimum \| Master Planned Communities
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	20 years
Residual value	$ 0
Maximum \| Master Planned Communities
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	40 years
Building and Building Improvements \| Minimum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	10 years
Building and Building Improvements \| Maximum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	45 years
Equipment Tenant Improvements and Fixtures \| Minimum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	5 years
Equipment Tenant Improvements and Fixtures \| Maximum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	10 years
Computer, Hardware and Software and Vehicles \| Minimum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	3 years
Computer, Hardware and Software and Vehicles \| Maximum
Useful lives of assets
Estimated useful lives	5 years

Represents the amount of condominium rights as of the balance sheet date.

No definition available.

Name:	hhc_CondominiumRights
Namespace Prefix:	hhc_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents the amount of pre-development costs, which generally include legal and professional fees and other directly-related third-party costs associated with specific development properties and are capitalized as part of the property being developed.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	hhc_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

The current amount of expenditures for a real estate project that has not yet been completed.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 210
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.10)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Glossary Phase
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=49177889

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount before accumulated deprecation and depletion of additions or improvements to real estate held for productive use. Examples include, but are not limited to, walkways, driveways, fences, and parking lots.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

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.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The estimated or actual value of the asset at the end of its useful life or when it is no longer serviceable (cannot be used for its original purpose).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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- Details

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