Segment Information (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013 state		Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012		Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Sep. 30, 2013 segment state		Sep. 30, 2012		Sep. 30, 2011
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of operating segments											3
Number of states with active operations	16										16
Revenue
Revenue						$ 370,931,000		$ 254,555,000	$ 191,643,000	$ 188,548,000	$ 1,287,577,000		$ 1,005,677,000		$ 742,405,000
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss	22,079,000		8,472,000	311,000	(3,601,000)	(6,510,000)		(21,155,000)	(17,694,000)	(16,699,000)	27,261,000		(62,058,000)		(132,245,000)
Equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated entities											(113,000)		304,000		560,000
(Loss) gain on extinguishment of debt	(998,000)		0	(3,638,000)	0	(42,350,000)		0	(2,747,000)	0	(4,636,000)		(45,097,000)		(2,909,000)
Other expense, net											(58,165,000)		(69,119,000)		(62,224,000)
Loss from continuing operations before income taxes											(35,653,000)		(175,970,000)		(196,818,000)
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											12,784,000		13,510,000		10,253,000
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											10,761,000		17,363,000		20,514,000
Assets
Assets	1,986,789,000					1,982,218,000					1,986,789,000		1,982,218,000
Operating Segments
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											122,784,000		38,885,000		(20,259,000)
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											10,467,000		10,556,000		7,226,000
West
Revenue
Revenue											547,636,000		391,648,000		233,133,000
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											59,084,000		15,147,000		(28,406,000)
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											5,305,000		4,980,000		3,651,000
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											4,835,000		3,031,000		4,041,000
Assets
Assets	680,346,000					618,805,000					680,346,000		618,805,000
East
Revenue
Revenue											483,685,000		402,466,000		343,826,000
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											40,670,000		9,152,000		11,611,000
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											3,479,000		3,536,000		2,621,000
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											1,915,000		3,532,000		2,051,000
Assets
Assets	369,937,000					320,404,000					369,937,000		320,404,000
Southeast
Revenue
Revenue											256,256,000		210,449,000		165,107,000
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											23,030,000		14,815,000		(2,740,000)
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											1,683,000		1,710,000		885,000
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											1,311,000		1,814,000		1,631,000
Assets
Assets	228,814,000					160,868,000					228,814,000		160,868,000
Pre-Owned Segment
Revenue
Revenue											0		1,114,000		339,000
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											0		(229,000)		(724,000)
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											0		330,000		69,000
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											0	[1]	7,933,000	[1]	11,415,000	[1]
Corporate and unallocated
Operating Income / (Loss)
Total operating loss											(95,523,000)	[2]	(100,943,000)	[2]	(111,986,000)	[2]
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization											2,317,000	[2]	2,954,000	[2]	3,027,000	[2]
Capital Expenditures
Capital Expenditures											2,700,000		1,053,000		1,376,000
Assets
Assets	707,692,000	[3]				882,141,000	[3]				707,692,000	[3]	882,141,000	[3]
Recovery related to warranty and legal expenditures											$ 11,000,000

[1] Capital expenditures represent the purchase of previously owned homes through May 2, 2012 and September 30, 2011, respectively.

[2] Corporate and unallocated includes amortization of capitalized interest and numerous shared services functions that benefit all segments, the costs of which are not allocated to the operating segments reported above including information technology, national sourcing and purchasing, treasury, corporate finance, legal, branding and other national marketing costs. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012, corporate and unallocated also includes an $11 million recovery related to old water intrusion warranty and related legal expenditures.

[3] Primarily consists of cash and cash equivalents, consolidated inventory not owned, deferred taxes, capitalized interest and other items that are not allocated to the segments.