Borrowings- Warehouse lines of credit (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Other secured borrowings	[1]	$ 363,640	$ 276,058
Warehouse facility B
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Other secured borrowings		67,574	64,278
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings		$ 62,991	$ 59,933
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Rate		7.55%	6.99%
Warehouse facility A
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Other secured borrowings		$ 43,302	$ 59,640
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings		$ 48,083	$ 65,652
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Rate		8.38%	8.43%
Warehouse facility C
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Other secured borrowings		$ 80,480	$ 48,954
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings		$ 111,256	$ 63,644
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Rate		7.42%	6.90%
Warehouse LOC | Reverse mortgage loans
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Other secured borrowings		$ 191,356	$ 172,872
Fair Value of Assets Transfered and Accounted for as Secured Borrowings		$ 222,330	$ 189,229
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Rate		7.68%	7.46%

[1] Ellington Financial Inc.'s Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets include assets and liabilities of variable interest entities it has consolidated. See Note 11 for additional details on Ellington Financial Inc.'s consolidated variable interest entities.