| **Income Taxes (Tables)**                                                                        | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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| **Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]**                                                             |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Summary of the provision for income tax expense (benefit)                                        | Income tax (benefit) expense for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 consist of the following:  2016 2015 2014Current:     Federal$(22,416) $(1,377) $69,245State(64) (138) 135Total(22,480) (1,515) 69,380Deferred:     Federal29,796 2,261 35,314State(169) 62 10,813Total29,627 2,323 46,127Income tax expense$7,147 $808 $115,507                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| Summary of total income tax expense (benefit) allocated in the consolidated financial statements | Total income tax expense (benefit) for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014 was allocated in the consolidated financial statements as follows:  2016 2015 2014Income tax expense$7,147 $808 $115,507Income tax recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)     Income tax expense (benefit)2,003 (300) (127)Total income tax expense$9,150 $508 $115,380                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| Schedule of effective income tax rate reconciliation                                             | Income tax expense attributable to income from operations differed from the amount computed by applying the statutory federal income tax rate of 35% to pre-tax income or loss as a result of the following:  2016 2015 2014Tax at the statutory federal rate$8,065 $(323) $182,700State income taxes (net of federal benefit)806 (32) 18,270Decrease in valuation allowance(941) (164) (86,882)Fees and expenses for SEC investigation— 1,092 —Other(783) 235 1,419Total income tax expense$7,147 $808 $115,507                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               |
| Schedule of deferred tax assets and liabilities                                                  | The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 are presented below:  2016 2015Deferred tax assets:   State net operating loss carryforwards$14,956 $11,400Alternative minimum tax credit carryforward13,477 —Impairment losses63,108 112,143Prepaid income from land sales5,461 5,490Other— 1,358Total gross deferred tax assets97,002 130,391Valuation allowance(5,135) (6,012)Total net deferred tax assets91,867 124,379Deferred tax liabilities:   Investment in real estate and property and equipment basis differences647 3,071Deferred gain on land sales and involuntary conversions28,920 28,691Installment sales127,260 126,741Pension Plan assets transferred to the 401(k) Plan2,170 2,723Other1,716 —Total gross deferred tax liabilities160,713 161,226Net deferred tax liability$(68,846) $(36,847) |

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Tax (Benefit) Recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the components of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for each year presented including, but not limited to: current tax expense (benefit), deferred tax expense (benefit), investment tax credits, government grants, the benefits of operating loss carryforwards, tax expense that results from allocating certain tax benefits either directly to contributed capital or to reduce goodwill or other noncurrent intangible assets of an acquired entity, adjustments of a deferred tax liability or asset for enacted changes in tax laws or rates or a change in the tax status of the entity, and adjustments of the beginning-of-the-year balances of a valuation allowance because of a change in circumstances that causes a change in judgment about the realizability of the related deferred tax asset in future years.
+ References
Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 740 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 9 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=65882285&loc=d3e32639-109319
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the components of net deferred tax asset or liability recognized in an entity's statement of financial position, including the following: the total of all deferred tax liabilities, the total of all deferred tax assets, the total valuation allowance recognized for deferred tax assets.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the reconciliation using percentage or dollar amounts of the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the year to the amount of income tax expense that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax income from continuing operations.
+ References
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