STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY AND SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended																			32 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Maximum	Mar. 31, 2012 Executive officer	Dec. 31, 2012 Black-Scholes options pricing model	Dec. 31, 2011 Black-Scholes options pricing model	Dec. 31, 2010 Black-Scholes options pricing model	Dec. 31, 2012 Black-Scholes options pricing model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Black-Scholes options pricing model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2010 Black-Scholes options pricing model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Black-Scholes options pricing model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2011 Black-Scholes options pricing model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2010 Black-Scholes options pricing model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Lattice (binomial) model	Dec. 31, 2011 Lattice (binomial) model	Dec. 31, 2010 Lattice (binomial) model	Dec. 31, 2012 Lattice (binomial) model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Lattice (binomial) model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2010 Lattice (binomial) model Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Lattice (binomial) model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2011 Lattice (binomial) model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2010 Lattice (binomial) model Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 May 2010 share repurchase program	Dec. 31, 2012 May 2010 share repurchase program	Dec. 31, 2012 2012 Share Repurchase Program	May 31, 2012 2012 Share Repurchase Program Maximum	Dec. 31, 2012 Service-based Options	Dec. 31, 2012 Market-based Options item	Dec. 31, 2012 Ordinary performance grants	Dec. 31, 2011 Ordinary performance grants	Dec. 31, 2010 Ordinary performance grants	Dec. 31, 2012 Ordinary performance grants Minimum	Dec. 31, 2012 Extraordinary performance grants Minimum
Common Stock
Common stock authorized (in shares)	100,000,000	100,000,000
Common stock outstanding (in shares)	23,427,000	23,405,000
Number of votes for each share of common stock	1
Stock Repurchase Plan
Number of shares of common stock authorized to be purchased																												3,500,000
Number of shares of common stock purchased																									300,000	2,500,000
Average purchase price per share (in dollars per share)																									$ 63.25	$ 37.49
Number of shares still available for purchase																											3,500,000
Equity Incentive Plan
Maximum number of Altisource share-based awards that can be granted under the Plan (in shares)	6,700,000
Share-based awards available for future grants under the Plan (in shares)	2,600,000
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY AND SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
Share-based compensation expense (in dollars)	$ 3,700,000	$ 4,000,000	$ 3,100,000			$ (800,000)																									$ 2,900,000	$ 3,000,000	$ 500,000
Vesting period																													4 years
Expiration term																													10 years
Outstanding (in shares)	3,058,309	3,243,958																											900,000	2,200,000
Number of components of an award																														2
Market-based options subject to ordinary performance achievement (as a percent)																															0.67
Percentage of compounded annual gain of stock price over exercise price required for the award to vest																																		20.00%	25.00%
Multiplier of stock price over exercise price as a condition for the award to vest																																		2	3
Vesting percentage for awards that vest upon achievement of certain criteria																														25.00%
Cumulative vesting percentage for awards that vest in equal annual installments																														75.00%
Number of equal annual installments for vesting of award																														3
Stock options granted (in shares)	278,500	200,000	900,000
Average exercise price of stock options granted (in dollars per share)	$ 69.48	$ 33.15	$ 23.58
Weighted average assumptions used to determine the fair value of options as of the grant date
Risk-free interest rate, minimum (as a percent)							0.87%	1.69%	1.50%							0.08%	0.04%	0.02%
Risk-free interest rate, maximum (as a percent)							1.17%	1.93%	3.20%							2.04%	3.03%	3.66%
Expected stock price volatility (as a percent)								48.00%
Expected stock price volatility, minimum (as a percent)							34.22%		47.00%							34.20%	55.70%	51.00%
Expected stock price volatility, maximum (as a percent)							34.65%		50.00%							34.60%	55.80%	52.00%
Expected option life							6 years 3 months	6 years 3 months				6 years 3 months			7 years
Contractual life																14 years	14 years	13 years
Weighted-average fair value at date of grant (in dollars per share)	$ 20.77	$ 17.66	$ 18.18							$ 19.25	$ 16.33	$ 11.95	$ 29.80	$ 17.85	$ 13.24				$ 9.98	$ 16.91	$ 10.05	$ 22.76	$ 20.39	$ 12.42
Weighted-average fair value of stock options granted, and the total intrinsic value of stock options exercised
Weighted-average fair value at date of grant (in dollars per share)	$ 20.77	$ 17.66	$ 18.18							$ 19.25	$ 16.33	$ 11.95	$ 29.80	$ 17.85	$ 13.24				$ 9.98	$ 16.91	$ 10.05	$ 22.76	$ 20.39	$ 12.42
Intrinsic value of options exercised (in dollars)	17,598,000	4,966,000	7,530,000
Fair value of options vested (in dollars)	2,790,000	3,536,000	926,000
Estimated forfeiture rate (as a percent)				1.00%	10.00%
Estimated unrecognized compensation costs (in dollars)	$ 4,700,000
Weighted-average remaining requisite service period for stock options over which unrecognized compensation costs would be recognized	2 years 5 months 23 days