v3.19.1

Counterparty Risk (% of Due from Brokers) (Details)	Dec. 31, 2018
Morgan Stanley [Member]
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
% of Total Due from Brokers	37.00%
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC [Member]
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
% of Total Due from Brokers	30.00%

X

- Definition

Percentage of total amount held by a specific counterparty included in Due from Brokers above a specified concentration risk threshold.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	efc_PercentageOfDuefromBroker
Namespace Prefix:	efc_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

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

X

- Details

Name:	srt_CounterpartyNameAxis=efc_MorganStanleyMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

X

- Details

Name:	srt_CounterpartyNameAxis=efc_J.P.MorganSecuritiesLLCMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: