Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Jun. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Real estate assets, at cost:
Land	$ 485,501	$ 515,095
Buildings and tenant improvements	5,010,086	5,128,150
Development in-process	195,166	172,706
Land held for development	131,522	99,163
Total real estate assets	5,822,275	5,915,114
Less-accumulated depreciation	(1,376,817)	(1,388,566)
Net real estate assets	4,445,458	4,526,548
Real estate and other assets, net, held for sale	0	20,790
Cash and cash equivalents	4,752	9,505
Restricted cash	8,955	5,237
Accounts receivable	29,876	23,370
Mortgages and notes receivable	1,440	1,501
Accrued straight-line rents receivable	249,722	234,652
Investments in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	26,775	26,298
Deferred leasing costs, net of accumulated amortization of $151,170 and $146,125, respectively	221,905	231,347
Prepaid expenses and other assets, net of accumulated depreciation of $20,532 and $20,017, respectively	67,905	58,996
Total Assets	5,056,788	5,138,244
Liabilities, Noncontrolling Interests in the Operating Partnership and Equity/Liabilities, Redeemable Operating Partnership Units and Capital:
Mortgages and notes payable, net	2,337,662	2,543,710
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities	275,551	286,911
Total Liabilities	2,613,213	2,830,621
Commitments and contingencies
Noncontrolling interests in the Operating Partnership	106,103	133,216
Equity/Capital:
Preferred Stock, $.01 par value, 50,000,000 authorized shares; 8.625% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares (liquidation preference $1,000 per share), 28,843 and 28,859 shares issued and outstanding, respectively	28,843	28,859
Common Stock, $.01 par value, 200,000,000 authorized shares; 103,896,936 and 103,756,046 shares issued and outstanding, respectively	1,039	1,038
Additional paid-in capital	2,996,442	2,954,779
Distributions in excess of net income available for common stockholders	(708,903)	(831,808)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,704)	(471)
Total Stockholders’ Equity	2,315,717	2,152,397
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated affiliates	21,755	22,010
Total Equity/Capital	2,337,472	2,174,407
Total Liabilities, Noncontrolling Interests in the Operating Partnership and Equity/Total Liabilities, Redeemable Operating Partnership Units and Capital	5,056,788	5,138,244
Highwoods Realty Limited Partnership [Member]
Real estate assets, at cost:
Land	485,501	515,095
Buildings and tenant improvements	5,010,086	5,128,150
Development in-process	195,166	172,706
Land held for development	131,522	99,163
Total real estate assets	5,822,275	5,915,114
Less-accumulated depreciation	(1,376,817)	(1,388,566)
Net real estate assets	4,445,458	4,526,548
Real estate and other assets, net, held for sale	0	20,790
Cash and cash equivalents	4,752	9,505
Restricted cash	8,955	5,237
Accounts receivable	29,876	23,370
Mortgages and notes receivable	1,440	1,501
Accrued straight-line rents receivable	249,722	234,652
Investments in and advances to unconsolidated affiliates	26,775	26,298
Deferred leasing costs, net of accumulated amortization of $151,170 and $146,125, respectively	221,905	231,347
Prepaid expenses and other assets, net of accumulated depreciation of $20,532 and $20,017, respectively	67,905	58,996
Total Assets	5,056,788	5,138,244
Liabilities, Noncontrolling Interests in the Operating Partnership and Equity/Liabilities, Redeemable Operating Partnership Units and Capital:
Mortgages and notes payable, net	2,337,662	2,543,710
Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other liabilities	275,551	286,911
Total Liabilities	2,613,213	2,830,621
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable Operating Partnership Units:
Common Units, 2,842,295 and 2,723,703 outstanding, respectively	106,103	133,216
Series A Preferred Units (liquidation preference $1,000 per unit), 28,843 and 28,859 units issued and outstanding, respectively	28,843	28,859
Total Redeemable Operating Partnership Units	134,946	162,075
Equity/Capital:
General partner Common Units, 1,063,304 and 1,060,709 outstanding, respectively	22,886	21,240
Limited partner Common Units, 102,424,823 and 102,286,528 outstanding, respectively	2,265,692	2,102,769
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(1,704)	(471)
Noncontrolling interests in consolidated affiliates	21,755	22,010
Total Equity/Capital	2,308,629	2,145,548
Total Liabilities, Noncontrolling Interests in the Operating Partnership and Equity/Total Liabilities, Redeemable Operating Partnership Units and Capital	$ 5,056,788	$ 5,138,244