Borrowings (Amounts at Risk) (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($)
Nomura Holdings Inc.
Borrowings [Line Items]
Repurchase Agreement Counterparty, Amount at Risk	$ 208,812
Repurchase Agreement Counterparty, Weighted Average Maturity of Agreements	13 days
Nomura Holdings Inc. \| Fair Value, Concentration of Risk, Maximum Amount of Loss
Borrowings [Line Items]
Percentage of Total Outstanding Unpaid Principal Balance	17.10%
Royal Bank of Canada [Member]
Borrowings [Line Items]
Repurchase Agreement Counterparty, Amount at Risk	$ 135,233
Repurchase Agreement Counterparty, Weighted Average Maturity of Agreements	100 days
Royal Bank of Canada [Member] \| Fair Value, Concentration of Risk, Maximum Amount of Loss
Borrowings [Line Items]
Percentage of Total Outstanding Unpaid Principal Balance	11.10%

[Line Items] for Borrowings [Table]

No definition available.

Name:	efc_BorrowingsLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	efc_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 42
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123359005&loc=d3e9054-108599

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 18
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e6351-108592

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123594938&loc=d3e13531-108611

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 21
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123594938&loc=d3e13537-108611

Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e6404-108592

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskPercentage1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

The amount at risk under repurchase agreements is defined as the excess of carrying amount (or market value, if higher than the carrying amount or if there is no carrying amount) of the securities or other assets sold under agreement to repurchase, including accrued interest plus any cash or other assets on deposit to secure the repurchase obligation, over the amount of the repurchase liability (adjusted for accrued interest).

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 235
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.4-08(m)(1)(iii))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120395691&loc=d3e23780-122690

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RepurchaseAgreementCounterpartyAmountAtRisk
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Weighted average maturity (weighted by amount of the agreement) of repurchase agreements with the counterparty, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

+ References

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_RepurchaseAgreementCounterpartyWeightedAverageMaturityOfAgreements1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

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

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByTypeAxis=us-gaap_FairValueConcentrationOfRiskMaximumAmountOfLossMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

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