Aggregate annual retention for construction defect, warranty and bodily injury claims.

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- Definition

Annual deductible for bodily injury claims.

+ References

No definition available.

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The limit on our deductible for bodily injury claims.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Maximum number of days of maturity for cash deposited in checking accounts, overnight repurchase agreements, certificates of deposit, Treasury Bills and government money market funds, to be considered cash and cash equivalents.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Annual deductible under our general liability insurance per occurrence for construction defects and warranty claims on homes delivered.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The net book value of mothballed communities at the end of the period.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The amount of impairment charges recorded to date on our mothballed communities.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
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- Definition

Inventory not owned required to be recorded as a financing in accordance with current accounting standards.

+ References

No definition available.

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Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Inventory under option that it is required to be purchased in the future based on the specific performance terms of the option agreement.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Joint venture, voting interest percentage.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Includes the liabilities for the inventory for which we do not have title related to the remaining exercise price of land and lot option purchases contracts; variable interest entities when we are the primary beneficiary; and model sale leaseback financing arrangements.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Balance Type:	credit
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- Details

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- Definition

The number of mothballed communities at the end of the period.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Number of mothball communities sold.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Number of mothballed communities reactivated.

+ References

No definition available.

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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Represents planned construction cycle for the development, construction, marketing and sale of residential single-family and multi-family homes.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Amount of shares of prepaid common stock purchase contracts included in the basic earnings per share calculations, which are issuable in the future with no additional cash required to be paid by the holders thereof.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
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Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 720

-SubTopic 35

-Section 50

-Paragraph 1

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- Definition

For an unclassified balance sheet, a valuation allowance for receivables due a company that are expected to be uncollectible.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher SEC

-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

-Paragraph 4

-Article 5

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-Section S99

-Paragraph 1

-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.4)

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- Definition

Amount of recoveries of receivables doubtful of collection that were previously charged off.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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- Definition

Amount of direct write-downs of accounts receivable charged against the allowance.

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-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (b)

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- Definition

Amount of short-term, highly liquid investments that are both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. Excludes cash and cash equivalents within disposal group and discontinued operation.

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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- Definition

Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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-Name Regulation S-X (SX)

-Number 210

-Section 02

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Interest rate used to find the present value of an amount to be paid or received in the future as an input to measure fair value. For example, but not limited to, weighted average cost of capital (WACC), cost of capital, cost of equity and cost of debt.

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The aggregate amount of write-downs for impairments recognized during the period for long lived assets held for use (including those held for disposal by means other than sale).

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Carrying amount as of the balance sheet date of parcels of land held for sale, and on which the entity has no intention or no further intention to perform construction activities.

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-Section 02

-Paragraph 6

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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Amount of expense related to write-down of receivables to the amount expected to be collected. Includes, but is not limited to, accounts receivable and notes receivable.

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Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) (USD $) Share data in Millions, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended			36 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2014	Oct. 31, 2013	Oct. 31, 2012	Oct. 31, 2014	Feb. 15, 2014
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Planned Construction Cycle	12 months
Cash Equivalents Policy, Number of Days	90 days
Cash Equivalents, at Carrying Value	$ 15,400,000us-gaap_CashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue	$ 8,400,000us-gaap_CashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue		15,400,000us-gaap_CashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Number of Communities Mothballed	45hov_NumberOfCommunitiesMothballed			45hov_NumberOfCommunitiesMothballed
Inventory, Real Estate, Mothballed Communities	103,300,000			103,300,000
Inventory, Real Estate, Mothballed Communities, Accumulated Impairment Charges	412,400,000			412,400,000
Number of Mothballed Communities Reactivated	2
Number of Mothball Communities Sold	3hov_NumberOfMothballCommunitiesSold
Inventory Real Estate Specific Performance Options	3,500,000			3,500,000
Liabilities From Inventory Real Estate Not Owned	3,400,000			3,400,000
Inventory, Land Held-for-sale	600,000us-gaap_InventoryLandHeldForSale	2,700,000us-gaap_InventoryLandHeldForSale		600,000us-gaap_InventoryLandHeldForSale
General Liability Insurance, Deductible	20,000,000hov_GeneralLiabilityInsuranceDeductible	20,000,000hov_GeneralLiabilityInsuranceDeductible		20,000,000hov_GeneralLiabilityInsuranceDeductible
Bodily Injury Insurance, Deductible	250,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceDeductible	250,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceDeductible		250,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceDeductible
Bodily Injury Insurance, Limit	5,000,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceLimit	5,000,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceLimit		5,000,000hov_BodilyInjuryInsuranceLimit
Aggregate Retention for Construction Defects, Warranty and Bodily Injury Claims	21,000,000	21,000,000		21,000,000
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Held-for-use	0	0	0
Advertising Expense	21,500,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	17,200,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense	18,200,000us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable	13,800,000	14,700,000		13,800,000
Provision for Doubtful Accounts	400,000us-gaap_ProvisionForDoubtfulAccounts	7,400,000us-gaap_ProvisionForDoubtfulAccounts
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable, Recoveries	1,300,000	800,000
Allowance for Doubtful Accounts Receivable, Write-offs		100,000
Prepaid Stock Purchase Contracts, Shares Included in Basic Earnings Per Share (in Shares)	6.1	6.1	8.8
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage					7.25%
Model Sale Leaseback Financing Arrangements [Member] \| Homebuilding [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Liabilities From Inventory Real Estate Not Owned	64,900,000			64,900,000
Inventory Real Estate Other Options	70,400,000			70,400,000
Land Banking Arrangement [Member] \| Homebuilding [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Liabilities From Inventory Real Estate Not Owned	24,100,000			24,100,000
Inventory Real Estate Other Options	35,000,000			35,000,000
Homebuilding [Member] \| Minimum [Member] \| Real Estate Inventory [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	16.80%	18.00%	16.80%	16.80%
Homebuilding [Member] \| Maximum [Member] \| Real Estate Inventory [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Fair Value Inputs, Discount Rate	17.30%	19.30%	18.50%	19.30%
Homebuilding [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Inventory Real Estate Specific Performance Options	3,479,000	792,000		3,479,000
Liabilities From Inventory Real Estate Not Owned	92,381,000	87,866,000		92,381,000
Inventory Real Estate Other Options	$ 105,374,000	$ 100,071,000		105,374,000
Tangible Equity Units [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	7.25%			7.25%
The 6.00% Exchangeable Note Units [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage	6.00%			6.00%
Minimum [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	3 years
Maximum [Member]
Note 3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details) [Line Items]
Joint Venture, Voting Interest Percentage	50.00%			50.00%
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	40 years