Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details 3)	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2013
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Repurchase financing period, low end of range	1 month
Repurchase financing period, high end of range	6 months

Represents the high end of the range of the typical period for repurchase financing agreements.

No definition available.

Name:	mfa_RepurchaseAgreementsFinancingPeriodHighEndOfRange
Namespace Prefix:	mfa_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration