Fair Value Disclosures (Level 4 inventory fv) (Details 3) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended							9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory Write-down	$ 2,397				$ 3,719			$ 11,314	$ 11,353
Operating communities [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Inventory Write-down								8,295		$ 8,365
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)	53	46	57	59	51	41	43
Number of Communities Impaired (in ones)	4	6	2	2	2	2	2
Fair Value Of Communities Net Of Impairment Charges	$ 5,965	$ 25,092	$ 8,372	$ 1,126	$ 11,714	$ 10,103	$ 1,713	$ 5,965	$ 11,714	$ 1,126
Inventory Write-down	$ 1,360	$ 2,935	$ 4,000	$ 415	$ 1,250	$ 6,100	$ 600