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Real Estate and Capitalized Interest (Details 2) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
Number of communities with real estate inventory impairments & fair value of these communities
Impairment Charges	$ 46,000	$ 293,000

X

- Definition

Impairment charges related to communities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	mth_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

X

- Details

Name:	mth_NumberOfCommunitiesImpairedFairValueAndImpairmentChargesAbstract
Namespace Prefix:	mth_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration