Supplemental Guarantor Information Supplemental Guarantor Information - Income Statement (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Revenue									$ 1,418,395	$ 1,215,180	$ 1,036,782
Land and housing									1,114,663	958,991	824,508
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures									3,638	3,457	5,805
General and administrative									93,208	88,830	79,494
Selling									95,092	81,148	68,282
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures									(498)	(347)	(306)
Interest									17,521	13,365	15,938
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									7,842	0	1,726
Total costs and expenses									1,331,466	1,145,444	995,447
Income before income taxes									86,929	69,736	41,335
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									35,166	18,947	(110,088)
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									51,763	50,789	151,423
Preferred dividends									4,875	4,875	3,656
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed									0	0	2,190
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders	$ 12,056	$ 14,352	$ 12,131	$ 8,349	$ 9,767	$ 12,399	$ 12,335	$ 11,413	46,888	45,914	145,577
Parent [Member]
Revenue									0	0	0
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									0		0
Total costs and expenses									0	0	0
Income before income taxes									0	0	0
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									0	0	0
Equity in subsidiaries									51,763	50,789	151,423
Net income									51,763	50,789	151,423
Preferred dividends									4,875	4,875	3,656
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed											2,190
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									46,888	45,914	145,577
Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									1,382,420	1,185,058	1,008,243
Land and housing									1,114,663	958,991	824,508
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures									3,638	3,457	5,805
General and administrative									77,662	73,747	66,249
Selling									95,092	81,148	68,209
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
Interest									15,905	11,926	14,556
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									7,842		1,726
Total costs and expenses									1,314,802	1,129,269	981,053
Income before income taxes									67,618	55,789	27,190
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									28,758	14,341	(114,866)
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									38,860	41,448	142,056
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed											0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									38,860	41,448	142,056
Non-Guarantor Subsidiaries [Member]
Revenue									35,975	30,122	28,539
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
General and administrative									15,546	15,083	13,245
Selling									0	0	73
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures									(498)	(347)	(306)
Interest									1,616	1,439	1,382
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									0		0
Total costs and expenses									16,664	16,175	14,394
Income before income taxes									19,311	13,947	14,145
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									6,408	4,606	4,778
Equity in subsidiaries									0	0	0
Net income									12,903	9,341	9,367
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed											0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									12,903	9,341	9,367
Corporate Elimination [Member]
Revenue									0	0	0
Land and housing									0	0	0
Impairment of inventory and investment in unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
General and administrative									0	0	0
Selling									0	0	0
Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures									0	0	0
Interest									0	0	0
Loss on early extinguishment of debt									0		0
Total costs and expenses									0	0	0
Income before income taxes									0	0	0
Provision (benefit) from income taxes									0	0	0
Equity in subsidiaries									(51,763)	(50,789)	(151,423)
Net income									(51,763)	(50,789)	(151,423)
Preferred dividends									0	0	0
Excess of fair value over book value of preferred shares redeemed											0
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders									$ (51,763)	$ (50,789)	$ (151,423)