REAL ESTATE AND CAPITALIZED INTEREST - Impairments (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2026	Jun. 30, 2025	Jun. 30, 2026	Jun. 30, 2025
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	$ 3,582	$ 0	$ 6,009	$ 0
Write Offs Of Non-Refundable Deposits And Pre-Aquisitions Costs	276	4,205	1,649	5,638
Homebuilding
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	3,582	0	6,009	0
Land closings
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	0	0	0	0
West [Member]
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	0	0	0	0
Write Offs Of Non-Refundable Deposits And Pre-Aquisitions Costs	126	561	226	1,123
West [Member] \| Homebuilding
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	0	0	0	0
West [Member] \| Land closings
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	0	0	0	0
Central [Member]
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	2,191	0	3,464	0
Write Offs Of Non-Refundable Deposits And Pre-Aquisitions Costs	150	222	492	558
Central [Member] \| Homebuilding
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	2,191	0	3,464	0
Central [Member] \| Land closings
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	0	0	0	0
East [Member]
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	1,391	0	2,545	0
Write Offs Of Non-Refundable Deposits And Pre-Aquisitions Costs	0	3,422	931	3,957
East [Member] \| Homebuilding
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	1,391	0	2,545	0
East [Member] \| Land closings
Real Estate [Line Items]
Impairment of Real Estate	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Write Offs Of Non-Refundable Deposits And Pre-Aquisitions Costs

No definition available.

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

- Definition

The charge against earnings in the period to reduce the carrying amount of real property to fair value.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 230
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 45
-Paragraph 28
-Subparagraph (b)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147482740/230-10-45-28

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Topic 360
-SubTopic 10
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (b)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147482099/360-10-50-2

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ImpairmentOfRealEstate
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Topic 976
-SubTopic 310
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (c)
-Publisher FASB
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/1943274/2147477332/976-310-50-1

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RealEstateLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_RealEstateMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PropertyPlantAndEquipmentByTypeAxis=us-gaap_LandMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_SubsegmentsAxis=mth_HomebuildingWestRegionMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_SubsegmentsAxis=mth_HomebuildingCentralRegionMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_SubsegmentsAxis=mth_HomebuildingEastRegionMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: