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Real Estate and Capitalized Interest (Details Textual) (USD $) | 3 Months Ended | 9 Months Ended |
--- | --- | --- | ---
Sep. 30, 2012 Communities | Sep. 30, 2011 | Sep. 30, 2012 Communities | Sep. 30, 2011 | Dec. 31, 2011
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Number of remaining actively selling communities | 153 |  | 153 |  |
Parcel of land under contract | $ 24,619,000 |  | $ 24,619,000 |  | $ 29,908,000
Impairment Charges |  | 358,000 | 0 | 669,000 |
Land closing revenue | 7,763,000 | 0 | 8,846,000 | 100,000 |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest (Textual) [Abstract] |  |  |  |  |
Capitalized interest related to joint venture investments | 750,000 |  | 750,000 |  | 750,000
Parcel of land under contract cash collected | 3,300,000 |  |  |  |
Under Contract [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Parcel of land under contract | 6,500,000 |  | 6,500,000 |  |
Central [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Impairment Charges |  | 229,000 |  | 540,000 |
Land closing revenue | 2,600,000 |  | 3,600,000 | 100,000 |
Central [Member] | Mothballed [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Carrying value of the community | 29,400,000 |  | 29,400,000 |  |
Number of mothball communities |  |  | 8 |  |
West [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Impairment Charges |  | 129,000 |  | 129,000 |
Land closing revenue | 4,400,000 |  | 4,400,000 |  |
West [Member] | Mothballed [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Carrying value of the community | 11,200,000 |  | 11,200,000 |  |
Number of mothball communities |  |  | 3 |  |
Las Vegas Wind-down [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Number of remaining actively selling communities | 2 |  | 2 |  |
Number of lots remaining to sell | 33 |  | 33 |  |
Value of remaining lots and associated home inventory | 5,900,000 |  | 5,900,000 |  |
Value of remaining assets related to properties not being developed | 18,500,000 |  | 18,500,000 |  |
Land closing revenue | $ 1,100,000 |  |  |  |
Las Vegas Wind-down [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Construction completion period |  |  | 18 months |  |
Las Vegas Wind-down [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |  |
Real Estate and Capitalized Interest [Line Items] |  |  |  |  |
Construction completion period |  |  | 12 months |  |

X
- Definition Carrying value of the community. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition The period of time over which the entity expects to complete the construction project. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Definition Impairment charges related to communities. + References No definition available. + Details
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- Details
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- Definition Carrying value of land held for sale. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 944 -SubTopic 210 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.7-03.(a),1(d)) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6879938&loc=d3e572229-122910 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 360 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 14 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=8077374&loc=d3e2599-110228 Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher SEC -Name Regulation S-X (SX) -Number 210 -Section 03 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph d -Article 7 + Details
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