v3.19.1

Investment in Securities (Proceeds, Realized Gains (Losses) on Sales) (Details) $ in Thousands | 3 Months Ended
--- | ---
Mar. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | $ 682,337
Agency RMBS |
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | 128,304
Gross Realized Gains | 712
Gross Realized Losses | (1,679)
Net Realized Gain (Loss) | (967)
Non-Agency RMBS and CMBS |
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | 129,545
Gross Realized Gains | 1,272
Gross Realized Losses | (3,443)
Net Realized Gain (Loss) | (2,171)
CLOs |
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | 44,822
Gross Realized Gains | 140
Gross Realized Losses | (935)
Net Realized Gain (Loss) | (795)
Other Securities |
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | 405,903
Gross Realized Gains | 758
Gross Realized Losses | (1,259)
Net Realized Gain (Loss) | (501)
Securities Total |
Debt Securities, Available-for-sale [Line Items] |
Proceeds | 708,574
Gross Realized Gains | 2,882
Gross Realized Losses | (7,316)
Net Realized Gain (Loss) | $ (4,434)

X
- Definition Debt Securities, Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Gains + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | efc_DebtSecuritiesAvailableforsaleSecuritiesGrossRealizedGains
Namespace Prefix: | efc_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Debt Securities, Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Losses + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | efc_DebtSecuritiesAvailableforsaleSecuritiesGrossRealizedLosses
Namespace Prefix: | efc_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of realized gain (loss) on investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale), investment in debt security measured at amortized cost (held-to-maturity) and investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in net income (trading). + References No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_DebtSecuritiesRealizedGainLoss
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | credit
Period Type: | duration

X
- Definition Amount of cash inflow from sale of investment in debt security measured at fair value with change in fair value recognized in other comprehensive income (available-for-sale). + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 320 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 11 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109979856&loc=d3e26853-111562 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 11 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3151-108585 Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 230 -SubTopic 10 -Section 45 -Paragraph 12 -Subparagraph (a) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109223946&loc=d3e3179-108585 + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ProceedsFromSaleOfAvailableForSaleSecuritiesDebt
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type: | debit
Period Type: | duration

X
- 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 No definition available. + Details
Name: | us-gaap_ScheduleOfAvailableForSaleSecuritiesLineItems
Namespace Prefix: | us-gaap_
Data Type: | xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type: | na
Period Type: | duration

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_USGovernmentAgenciesDebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=efc_ResidentialMortgageandCommercialMortgageBackedSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_CollateralizedLoanObligationsMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=efc_OtherInvestmentSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |

X
- Details
Name: | us-gaap_FinancialInstrumentAxis=us-gaap_DebtSecuritiesMember
Namespace Prefix: |
Data Type: | na
Balance Type: |
Period Type: |