Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $) In Millions, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 executives acre properties sqft property	Sep. 30, 2012 executives acre properties sqft property	Dec. 31, 2011
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
In-service office, industrial and retail properties (in units)	299	299
Square footage of commercial property (in sq feet)	29,005,899	29,005,899
Residential condominiums for sale (in units)	5	5
Undeveloped land suitable for future development (in acres)	581	581
Undeveloped land considered core holdings (in acres)	518	518
Office properties under/planned for development (in units)	1	1
Common Units of partnership owned (in shares)	78,100,000	78,100,000
Percentage of ownership of Common Units	95.40%	95.40%	95.10%
Number of officers of the Company who are also limited partners	1	1
Number of directors of the Company who are also limited partners	2	2
Common Units of partnership not owned by the Company (in shares)	3,800,000	3,800,000
Number of common units required to convert to one share of common stock (in shares)	1	1
Common Stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Number of trading days preceding Redemption Notice Date (in days)		10 days
Common Units redeemed for a like number of common shares of stock (in shares)		21,366
Common Units issued to acquire real estate assets (in shares)	66,864	66,864
Number of Common Stock sold at the market during period (in shares)	2,867,768	5,490,244
Average price of Common Stock sold at the market during period (in dollars per share)	$ 33.22	$ 33.33
Net proceeds of Common Stock sold at the market during period	$ 93.8	$ 180.2
Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership [Member]
Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
In-service office, industrial and retail properties (in units)	299	299
Square footage of commercial property (in sq feet)	29,005,899	29,005,899
Residential condominiums for sale (in units)	5	5
Undeveloped land suitable for future development (in acres)	581	581
Undeveloped land considered core holdings (in acres)	518	518
Office properties under/planned for development (in units)	1	1
Common Units of partnership owned (in shares)	78,100,000	78,100,000
Percentage of ownership of Common Units	95.40%	95.40%	95.10%
Number of officers of the Company who are also limited partners	1	1
Number of directors of the Company who are also limited partners	2	2
Common Units of partnership not owned by the Company (in shares)	3,800,000	3,800,000
Number of common units required to convert to one share of common stock (in shares)	1	1
Common Stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Number of trading days preceding Redemption Notice Date (in days)		10 days
Common Units redeemed for a like number of common shares of stock (in shares)		21,366
Common Units issued to acquire real estate assets (in shares)	66,864	66,864
Number of Common Stock sold at the market during period (in shares)	2,867,768	5,490,244
Average price of Common Stock sold at the market during period (in dollars per share)	$ 33.22	$ 33.33
Net proceeds of Common Stock sold at the market during period	$ 93.8	$ 180.2