Land Under Development - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015 Lot Parcels	Mar. 31, 2014 Lot
Real Estate [Abstract]
Number of raw parcels of land acquired	4nvr_NumberOfRawParcelsOfLandAcquired
Carrying value of raw parcels of land	$ 35,813
Number of finished lots intended to be developed from raw parcels of land	460
Finished lots under lot purchase agreements	90
Lots sold to unrelated party	5	0
Aggregate sales price of finished lots to unrelated party	$ 1,300

Aggregate finished lots under contract to be sold to unrelated party under agreement.

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of finished lots sold under contract to an unrelated party.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Finished lots sold under contract to an unrelated party.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Number of finished lots intended to be developed from raw parcels of land for use in homebuilding operation.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Number of raw parcels of land acquired.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Carrying amount as of the balance sheet date, net of valuation allowances and impairment losses, of costs of land expected to be developed in the near term plus capitalized costs of development, for purposes of selling completed units to home buyers or commercial or industrial entities..

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 210

-SubTopic 10

-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.6(a))

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 6

-Subparagraph a

-Article 5

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