Fair Value Disclosures (Level 4 inventory fv) (Details 3) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended							9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory Write-down	$ 3,719				$ 17,969			$ 11,353	$ 31,279
Operating communities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory Write-down								7,950		$ 22,300
Fair Value, Measurements, Nonrecurring [Member] | Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] | Operating communities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Number of Operating Communities Tested (in ones)	51	41	43	44	40	52	58
Number of Communities Impaired (in ones)	2	2	2	3	3	1	4
Fair Value Of Communities Net Of Impairment Charges	$ 11,714	$ 10,103	$ 1,713	$ 8,726	$ 13,527	$ 16,235	$ 24,968	$ 11,714	$ 13,527	$ 8,726
Inventory Write-down	$ 1,250	$ 6,100	$ 600	$ 4,300	$ 6,000	$ 11,100	$ 900