Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2013	Jan. 31, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Long-term Line of Credit		$ 47,000	$ 47,000	[1]
Letter of Credit [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount		$ 2,500	2,600
Citi Bank [Member] | Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Term	5 years
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity	$ 75,000
Debt Instrument Basis Spread On Variable Rate Number of Business Days Prior to First Day of Interest Period Spread Determined		2 days
Long-term Line of Credit		$ 47,000	47,000
Letters of Credit Outstanding, Amount		25,500	25,900
JP Morgan Chase Bank [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		50,000
Warehouse Agreement Borrowings		$ 42,200	30,500
JP Morgan Chase Bank [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument Variable Rate Basis Adjusted London Interbank Offered Rate LIBOR		0.425%
Customer's Bank [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		$ 25,000
Warehouse Agreement Borrowings		33,100	29,700
Nonrecourse Mortgages [Member] | Mortgages [Member] | Corporate, Non-Segment [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Secured Debt		$ 15,200	$ 15,500
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate		8.80%	8.80%
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Next Twelve Months		$ 900
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Two		1,300
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Three		1,400
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Four		1,500
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal in Year Five		1,700
Long-term Debt, Maturities, Repayments of Principal after Year Five		8,400
Nonrecourse Mortgages [Member] | Mortgages [Member] | Homebuilding [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Secured Debt		128,668	$ 143,863	[1]
Debt Instrument, Collateral Amount		$ 328,200	$ 388,100
Debt, Weighted Average Interest Rate		4.90%	5.10%
8.0% Senior Notes Due 2019 [Member] | Senior Secured Notes [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		8.00%
The 7.25% 2020 Notes and 9.125% 2020 Notes [Member] | Senior Secured Notes [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Collateral Amount		$ 628,400
Cash Collateral for Borrowed Securities		112,600
The 7.25% 2020 Notes and 9.125% 2020 Notes [Member] | Senior Secured Notes [Member] | Restricted Cash [Member] | Letter of Credit [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Cash Collateral for Borrowed Securities		2,500	$ 2,600
Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		50,000
Warehouse Agreement Borrowings		$ 36,700	30,100
Debt Instrument Variable Rate Basis Effective Rate		0.76%
Comerica Master Repurchase Agreement [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		$ 35,000
Warehouse Agreement Borrowings		$ 28,400	$ 18,600
Comerica Master Repurchase Agreement [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		2.50%
Debt Instrument Variable Rate Basis Floor Rate		0.25%
Minimum [Member] | JP Morgan Chase Bank [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		2.50%
Minimum [Member] | Customer's Bank [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		2.50%
Minimum [Member] | Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		2.25%
Maximum [Member] | JP Morgan Chase Bank [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate			2.63%
Maximum [Member] | Customer's Bank [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		5.25%
Maximum [Member] | Credit Suisse Master Repurchase Agreement [Member]
Note 10 - Mortgages and Notes Payable (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Basis Spread on Variable Rate		2.50%

[1] Derived from the audited balance sheet as of October 31, 2015.