Note 14 - Results of Quarterly Operations (Unaudited) (Details) - Results of Quarterly Operations (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014		Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Jun. 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
2014:
Revenues	$ 2,435,297	[1]	$ 1,939,519	[1]
Homebuilding gross margin	618,383	[1]	469,196	[1]	243,674
Net income	215,865	[1]	188,715	[1]	531,421
Basic income per common share (in Dollars per share)	$ 0.59	[1]	$ 0.52	[1]	$ 1.52
Diluted income per common share (in Dollars per share)	$ 0.54	[1]	$ 0.47	[1]	$ 1.44
First Quarter [Member]
2014:
Revenues						465,183	363,398
Homebuilding gross margin						118,950	74,526
Net income						38,159	21,824
Basic income per common share (in Dollars per share)						$ 0.10	$ 0.06
Diluted income per common share (in Dollars per share)						$ 0.09	$ 0.05
Second Quarter [Member]
2014:
Revenues								598,598	446,092
Homebuilding gross margin								157,940	102,762
Net income								56,463	43,136
Basic income per common share (in Dollars per share)								$ 0.15	$ 0.12
Diluted income per common share (in Dollars per share)								$ 0.14	$ 0.11
Third Quarter [Member]
2014:
Revenues										611,028	517,595
Homebuilding gross margin										159,060	129,390
Net income										56,599	58,935
Basic income per common share (in Dollars per share)										$ 0.15	$ 0.16
Diluted income per common share (in Dollars per share)										$ 0.14	$ 0.15
Fourth Quarter [Member]
2014:
Revenues												760,488	612,434
Homebuilding gross margin												182,433	162,518
Net income												$ 64,644	$ 64,820
Basic income per common share (in Dollars per share)												$ 0.18	$ 0.18
Diluted income per common share (in Dollars per share)												$ 0.16	$ 0.16

[1] Per share amounts do not add across due to rounding differences in quarterly amounts and due to the impact of differences between the quarterly and annual weighted average share calculations.