Inventory Impairments and Land Option Contract Abandonments (Narratives) (Details)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	May. 31, 2015 USD ($) lot	May. 31, 2014 USD ($) lot	May. 31, 2015 USD ($) lot property	May. 31, 2014 USD ($) lot property	Nov. 30, 2014 USD ($) property
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Acquisition Costs Related To Land Option Contracts And Other Similar Contracts	$ 52,100,000		$ 52,100,000		$ 48,000,000
Number of land parcels or communities evaluated for recoverability | property			26	14
Carrying Value of Communities or Land Parcels Evaluated for Impairment	212,500,000	$ 70,500,000	$ 212,500,000	$ 70,500,000
Pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	0	$ 0	0	$ 0	(37,600,000)
Aggregate carrying value of inventory impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	$ 268,900,000		$ 268,900,000		$ 266,600,000
Number of communities and various other land parcels impacted by pretax, noncash inventory impairment charges	26		26		33
Land Option Contract Abandonment Lots Associated with Projects Less Than $100,000 | lot	0	1,987	0	5,367
Land Option Contract Abandonment Lots | lot	114	32	426	682
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
Land Option Contract Abandonment [Member]
Fair Value Inputs, Assets, Quantitative Information [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Land	$ (536,000)	$ (357,000)	$ (984,000)	$ (790,000)