CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Interest income	$ 99,031,623	$ 79,998,762	$ 73,867,556
Interest expense	42,065,151	40,866,832	51,651,933
Net interest income	56,966,472	39,131,930	22,215,623
Other revenue:
Property operating income	27,829,358	28,021,646	21,937,250
Other income, net	2,290,714	1,280,289	188,485
Total other revenue	30,120,072	29,301,935	22,125,735
Other expenses:
Employee compensation and benefits	12,042,332	10,173,572	11,195,663
Selling and administrative	10,603,247	7,882,914	7,325,801
Property operating expenses	24,568,369	25,958,586	20,122,864
Depreciation and amortization	6,668,381	5,327,493	4,789,911
Impairment loss on real estate owned	1,000,000
Provision for loan losses (net of recoveries)	4,287,652	22,946,396	38,542,888
Loss on sale and restructuring of loans			5,710,000
Management fee - related party	10,900,000	10,000,000	8,300,000
Total other expenses	70,069,981	82,288,961	95,987,127
Income (loss) from continuing operations before gain on extinguishment of debt, (loss) income from equity affiliates and benefit from income taxes	17,016,563	(13,855,096)	(51,645,769)
Gain on extinguishment of debt	4,930,772	30,459,023	10,878,218
(Loss) income from equity affiliates	(204,475)	(697,856)	3,671,386
Income (loss) before benefit from income taxes	21,742,860	15,906,071	(37,096,165)
Benefit from income taxes		801,558
Income (loss) from continuing operations	21,742,860	16,707,629	(37,096,165)
Impairment loss on real estate held-for-sale			(1,450,000)
Gain on sale of real estate held-for-sale		3,953,455
(Loss) income from operations of real estate held-for-sale	(444,123)	1,055,371	(1,549,892)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations	(444,123)	5,008,826	(2,999,892)
Net income (loss)	21,298,737	21,716,455	(40,096,057)
Preferred stock dividends	4,506,583
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	124,199	215,567	215,656
Net income (loss) attributable to Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. common stockholders	$ 16,667,955	$ 21,500,888	$ (40,311,713)
Basic earnings (loss) per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of noncontrolling interest and preferred stock dividends (in dollars per share)	$ 0.40	$ 0.61	$ (1.49)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.01)	$ 0.19	$ (0.12)
Net income (loss) attributable to Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.39	$ 0.80	$ (1.61)
Diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, net of noncontrolling interest and preferred stock dividends (in dollars per share)	$ 0.40	$ 0.61	$ (1.49)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.01)	$ 0.18	$ (0.12)
Net income (loss) attributable to Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. common stockholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.39	$ 0.79	$ (1.61)
Weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	42,399,872	26,956,938	24,968,894
Diluted (in shares)	42,835,144	27,211,287	24,968,894