Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
Revenue									$ 566,424	$ 761,905	$ 566,424	$ 616,377
Land and housing									467,130	610,540		511,408
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs									21,993	3,502		12,538
General and administrative									52,664	62,627		53,958
Selling									43,534	56,406		48,084
Interest									15,005	16,071	15,005	9,415
Other loss										0	0	8,378
Total costs and expenses									600,326	749,146		643,781
(Loss) income before income taxes									(33,902)	12,759	(33,902)	(27,404)
Benefit for income taxes									(25)	(588)	(25)	(1,135)
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0		0
Net income (loss)	5,015	8,314	3,204	(3,186)	(2,976)	(4,718)	(9,144)	(17,039)	(33,877)	13,347	(33,877)	(26,269)
Parent [Member]
Revenue									0	0		0
Land and housing									0	0		0
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs									0	0		0
General and administrative									0	0		0
Selling									0	0		0
Interest									0	0		0
Other loss												8,378
Total costs and expenses									0	0		8,378
(Loss) income before income taxes									0	0		(8,378)
Benefit for income taxes									0	0		0
Equity in subsidiaries									(33,877)	13,347		(17,891)
Net income (loss)									(33,877)	13,347		(26,269)
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									551,958	738,649		602,140
Land and housing									467,130	610,540		511,408
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs									21,993	3,502		12,538
General and administrative									44,438	51,307		45,929
Selling									43,534	56,396		48,084
Interest									14,050	14,650		8,471
Other loss												0
Total costs and expenses									591,145	736,395		626,430
(Loss) income before income taxes									(39,187)	2,254		(24,290)
Benefit for income taxes									(1,784)	(4,157)		(3,291)
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0		0
Net income (loss)									(37,403)	6,411		(20,999)
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									14,466	23,256		14,237
Land and housing									0	0		0
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs									0	0		0
General and administrative									8,226	11,320		8,029
Selling									0	10		0
Interest									955	1,421		944
Other loss												0
Total costs and expenses									9,181	12,751		8,973
(Loss) income before income taxes									5,285	10,505		5,264
Benefit for income taxes									1,759	3,569		2,156
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0		0
Net income (loss)									3,526	6,936		3,108
Corporate Elimination [Member]
Revenue									0	0		0
Land and housing									0	0		0
Impairment of inventory and investment in Unconsolidated LLCs									0	0		0
General and administrative									0	0		0
Selling									0	0		0
Interest									0	0		0
Other loss												0
Total costs and expenses									0	0		0
(Loss) income before income taxes									0	0		0
Benefit for income taxes									0	0		0
Equity in subsidiaries									33,877	(13,347)		17,891
Net income (loss)									$ 33,877	$ (13,347)		$ 17,891