Document and Entity Information (USD $) In Billions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Apr. 25, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) is filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A (the “Form 10-K/A”) to its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 31, 2013 (the “Original Filing”), for the sole purpose of revising Note 22—Supplemental Guarantor Information (the “Guarantor Footnote”) contained in Part II, Item 8 as described below and to make corresponding amendments to the Interactive Data File included in the Original Filing as Exhibit 101. Part IV of the Original Filing has also been amended to contain currently dated certifications and a currently dated auditor’s consent.
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	MDC
Entity Registrant Name	MDC HOLDINGS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000773141
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	48,698,757	48,869,726
Entity Public Float			$ 1.2