Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Narratives) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2014 lot property	May 31, 2013 property lot	May 31, 2014 lot property	May 31, 2013 lot property	Nov. 30, 2013 property
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Acquisition Costs Related To Land Option Contracts And Other Similar Contracts	$ 37,000,000		$ 37,000,000		$ 31,000,000
Number of land parcels or communities evaluated for recoverability	11	18	22	38
Pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	0	0	0	0	400,000
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	285,000,000		285,000,000		293,100,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	35		35		42
Land Option Contract Abandonment Charges	357,000	284,000	790,000	284,000
Land Option Contract Abandonment Lots Associated with Projects Less Than $100,000			5,367
Land Option Contract Abandonment Lots	32	82	682	82
Remaining useful life in addition to specified useful lives (in years)			1 year
Specified period of remaining useful lives (in years)			10 years
Expected Realization Period of Inventory (in years)			5 years
Maximum [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Acquisition Costs Related To Land Option Contracts And Other Similar Contracts	$ 100,000		$ 100,000