Product Warranties - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013
Product Warranties Disclosures [Abstract]
Warranty accrual related to a single completed community	$ 4,000	$ 15,600

The warranty reserve provision charge related to remediation of primarily water infiltration issues in a single completed community

No definition available.

Name:	nvr_WarrantyReserveProvisionSingleCompletedCommunity
Namespace Prefix:	nvr_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	duration