Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Unaudited Comprehensive Income (Loss) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Income Statement [Abstract]
Total revenue	$ 339,241	$ 344,449
Home construction and land sales expenses	285,578	285,511
Inventory impairments and abandonments	0	1,356
Gross profit	53,663	57,582
Commissions	13,323	13,774
General and administrative expenses	36,388	31,669
Depreciation and amortization	2,677	2,991
Depreciation and Amortization	2,677	2,991
Operating income	1,275	9,148
Equity in income of unconsolidated entities	22	60
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	(828)
Other expense, net	(5,196)	(6,565)
Income (loss) before income taxes	(3,899)	1,815
Expense (benefit) from income taxes	(2,540)	616
Income (loss) from continuing operations	(1,359)	1,199
Loss from discontinued operations, net of tax	(70)	(200)
Net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss)	$ (1,429)	$ 999
Weighted average number of shares:
Basic (shares)	31,893	31,757
Diluted (shares)	31,893	31,844
Basic income (loss) per share:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.04)	$ 0.04
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	(0.01)
Total (in dollars per share)	(0.04)	0.03
Diluted income (loss) per share:
Continuing operations (in dollars per share)	(0.04)	0.04
Discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.00	(0.01)
Total (in dollars per share)	$ (0.04)	$ 0.03