Fair Value Disclosures (Level 4 inventory fv) (Details 3) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory impairments and write-offs													$ 13,807	$ 35,709	$ 20,678
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	59	51	41	43	44	40	52	58	55	63	65	67
Number of Communities impaired	2	2	2	2	3	3	1	4		1	2	1			7
Fair Value Of Communities Net Of Impairment Charges	$ 1,126	$ 11,714	$ 10,103	$ 1,713	$ 8,726	$ 13,527	$ 16,235	$ 24,968	$ 38,473	$ 14,122	$ 6,211	$ 7,131	1,126	8,726	$ 38,473
Inventory impairments and write-offs	$ 415	$ 1,250	$ 6,100	$ 600	$ 4,300	$ 6,000	$ 11,100	$ 900	$ 9,855	$ 4,800	$ 1,600	$ 1,300	$ 8,365	$ 22,300	$ 17,555