Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2015	Mar. 09, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES INC
Document Type	10-Q
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--10-31
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	Jan. 31, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		131,417,519
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		14,983,719