Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2012	Apr. 30, 2012	Dec. 14, 2012 Common Class A [Member]	Dec. 14, 2012 Common Class B [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES INC
Document Type	10-K
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-31
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			119,833,294	14,658,353
Entity Public Float		$ 200,205,968
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Central Index Key	0000357294
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Period End Date	Oct. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY