Financial Derivatives (Futures) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Derivative [Line Items]
Fair Value	$ (10,833)
Short \| U.S. Treasury futures
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional Amount	(16,000)
Fair Value	$ 148
Remaining Years to Maturity	2 months 23 days
Short \| Eurodollar futures
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional Amount	$ (14,000)
Fair Value	$ (45)
Remaining Years to Maturity	4 months 2 days
Short \| Futures
Derivative [Line Items]
Notional Amount	$ (30,000)
Fair Value	$ 103
Remaining Years to Maturity	3 months 11 days

Fair values as of the balance sheet date of the net amount of all assets and liabilities resulting from contracts that meet the criteria of being accounted for as derivative instruments.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 5
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=117331979&loc=d3e41228-113958

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeAssetsLiabilitiesAtFairValueNet
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

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

- Definition

Nominal or face amount used to calculate payment on derivative.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1B
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109980867&loc=SL5580258-113959

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2009/role/commonPracticeRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 815
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1A
-Subparagraph (d)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=109980867&loc=SL5579245-113959

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeNotionalAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Period remaining until the derivative contract matures, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeRemainingMaturity1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_PositionAxis=us-gaap_ShortMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=efc_U.S.TreasuryFuturesMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_EurodollarFutureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_DerivativeInstrumentRiskAxis=us-gaap_FutureMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: