Inventory - Results of Discounted Cash Flow Analysis (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012 lot Community	Sep. 30, 2011 Community lot
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		5	19
Number of lots impaired		246	1,223
Impairment Charges		$ 9,547	$ 29,581
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		20,857	49,759
Continuing Operations
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		5	19
Number of lots impaired		246	1,223
Impairment Charges	59	9,487	29,305
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		20,857	49,759
Continuing Operations | West
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		2	12
Number of lots impaired		116	859
Impairment Charges	46	3,902	20,150
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		11,058	33,066
Continuing Operations | East
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		2	4
Number of lots impaired		93	86
Impairment Charges	13	4,316	1,611
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		7,342	10,671
Continuing Operations | Southeast
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		1	3
Number of lots impaired		37	278
Impairment Charges	0	796	5,182
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		2,457	6,022
Continuing Operations | Unallocated
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		0	0
Number of lots impaired		0	0
Impairment Charges	0	473	2,362
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		0	0
Discontinued Operations
Real Estate, Write-down or Reserve [Line Items]
Number of communities impaired		0	0
Number of lots impaired		0	0
Impairment Charges	0	60	276
Estimated fair value of impaired inventory at period end		$ 0	$ 0