Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
Feb. 28, 2014
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	11. Income Taxes Income Tax Expense. Our income tax expense totaled $.2 million for the three months ended February 28, 2014 and $.1 million for the three months ended February 28, 2013. Due to the effects of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, our effective tax rates for the three months ended February 28, 2014 and 2013 are not meaningful items as our income tax amounts are not directly correlated to the amount of our pretax income (loss) for those periods. Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), we evaluate our deferred tax assets quarterly to determine if adjustments to the valuation allowance are required. ASC 740 requires that companies assess whether a valuation allowance should be established based on the consideration of all available positive and negative evidence using a “more likely than not” standard with respect to whether deferred tax assets will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets depends primarily on the generation of future taxable income. The value of our deferred tax assets will depend on applicable income tax rates. During the three months ended February 28, 2014, we reduced our deferred tax asset valuation allowance by $4.4 million to account for adjustments to our deferred tax assets associated with the pretax income generated during the period. During the three months ended February 28, 2013, we reduced our deferred tax asset valuation allowance by $.7 million to account for adjustments to our deferred tax assets associated with the vesting of equity-based awards. One of the primary pieces of negative evidence that we consider in evaluating the need for a valuation allowance is our three-year cumulative loss position, which is largely the result of our pretax losses in 2012 and 2011, as we generated pretax income for the year ended November 30, 2013. In the first quarter of 2014, we reported our third consecutive quarter of pretax income and experienced year-over-year increases in our revenues, housing gross profit margin, net orders and backlog. If such positive trends in our business continue, together with improvements in housing markets and the homebuilding industry, and we are profitable on a sustained basis, we believe that there could be sufficient positive evidence to support reducing a large portion of our valuation allowance during 2014. We had no net deferred tax assets at February 28, 2014 or November 30, 2013 as we maintained a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. The deferred tax asset valuation allowance decreased to $855.0 million at February 28, 2014 from $859.4 million at November 30, 2013, reflecting the $4.4 million valuation allowance adjustment recorded during the three months ended February 28, 2014. Unrecognized Tax Benefits. During the three months ended February 28, 2014, our total gross unrecognized tax benefits remained unchanged at $.3 million. The total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, that would affect the effective tax rate was $.3 million as of February 28, 2014. We anticipate that these gross unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by an amount ranging from $.1 million to $.3 million during the 12 months from this reporting date due to various state tax filings associated with the resolution of a federal tax audit. Our fiscal years ending 2010 and later remain open to federal and state examinations. The benefits of our net operating losses (“NOL”), built-in losses and tax credits would be reduced or potentially eliminated if we experienced an “ownership change” under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 (“Section 382”). Based on our analysis performed as of February 28, 2014, we do not believe we have experienced an ownership change as defined by Section 382, and, therefore, the NOL, built-in losses and tax credits we have generated should not be subject to a Section 382 limitation as of this reporting date.

Income Tax Expense. Our income tax expense totaled $.2 million for the three months ended February 28, 2014 and $.1 million for the three months ended February 28, 2013. Due to the effects of the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, our effective tax rates for the three months ended February 28, 2014 and 2013 are not meaningful items as our income tax amounts are not directly correlated to the amount of our pretax income (loss) for those periods.

Deferred Tax Asset Valuation Allowance. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic No. 740, “Income Taxes” (“ASC 740”), we evaluate our deferred tax assets quarterly to determine if adjustments to the valuation allowance are required. ASC 740 requires that companies assess whether a valuation allowance should be established based on the consideration of all available positive and negative evidence using a “more likely than not” standard with respect to whether deferred tax assets will be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets depends primarily on the generation of future taxable income. The value of our deferred tax assets will depend on applicable income tax rates. During the three months ended February 28, 2014, we reduced our deferred tax asset valuation allowance by $4.4 million to account for adjustments to our deferred tax assets associated with the pretax income generated during the period. During the three months ended February 28, 2013, we reduced our deferred tax asset valuation allowance by $.7 million to account for adjustments to our deferred tax assets associated with the vesting of equity-based awards. One of the primary pieces of negative evidence that we consider in evaluating the need for a valuation allowance is our three-year cumulative loss position, which is largely the result of our pretax losses in 2012 and 2011, as we generated pretax income for the year ended November 30, 2013. In the first quarter of 2014, we reported our third consecutive quarter of pretax income and experienced year-over-year increases in our revenues, housing gross profit margin, net orders and backlog. If such positive trends in our business continue, together with improvements in housing markets and the homebuilding industry, and we are profitable on a sustained basis, we believe that there could be sufficient positive evidence to support reducing a large portion of our valuation allowance during 2014.

We had no net deferred tax assets at February 28, 2014 or November 30, 2013 as we maintained a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. The deferred tax asset valuation allowance decreased to $855.0 million at February 28, 2014 from $859.4 million at November 30, 2013, reflecting the $4.4 million valuation allowance adjustment recorded during the three months ended February 28, 2014.

Unrecognized Tax Benefits. During the three months ended February 28, 2014, our total gross unrecognized tax benefits remained unchanged at $.3 million. The total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, including interest and penalties, that would affect the effective tax rate was $.3 million as of February 28, 2014. We anticipate that these gross unrecognized tax benefits will decrease by an amount ranging from $.1 million to $.3 million during the 12 months from this reporting date due to various state tax filings associated with the resolution of a federal tax audit. Our fiscal years ending 2010 and later remain open to federal and state examinations.

The benefits of our net operating losses (“NOL”), built-in losses and tax credits would be reduced or potentially eliminated if we experienced an “ownership change” under Internal Revenue Code Section 382 (“Section 382”). Based on our analysis performed as of February 28, 2014, we do not believe we have experienced an ownership change as defined by Section 382, and, therefore, the NOL, built-in losses and tax credits we have generated should not be subject to a Section 382 limitation as of this reporting date.