Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Feb. 15, 2013	Jun. 30, 2012
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	PPS
Entity Registrant Name	POST PROPERTIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000903127
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		54,566,350
Entity Public Float			$ 2,598,025,607
Post Apartment Homes, L.P. [Member]
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2012
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	PPS-A
Entity Registrant Name	POST APARTMENT HOMES L.P.
Entity Central Index Key	0001012271
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer