Pre-owned Homes Business (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	2 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012 Pre-Owned Segment	May 03, 2012 Pre-Owned Segment homes	Sep. 30, 2011 Pre-Owned Segment homes
Pre-Owned Home Business [Line Items]
Payments to Acquire Equity Method Investments	$ 300	$ 2,075	$ 1,763
Number of pre-owned homes owned					190	120
Number of Pre-owned homes owned and leased					187
Beazer homes' ownership interest in unconsolidated REIT	100.00%	100.00%		25.00%	23.50%