Document and Entity Information - shares	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2015	Jul. 31, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Trading Symbol	PPS
Entity Registrant Name	POST PROPERTIES INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000903127
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		54,601,361
Post Apartment Homes, L.P. [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Trading Symbol	PPS-A
Entity Registrant Name	POST APARTMENT HOMES LP
Entity Central Index Key	0001012271
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer