Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Parenthetical) - shares	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2014
Statement of Cash Flows [Abstract]
Issued shares of restricted and unrestricted common stock, pursuant to NNN’s performance incentive plan	279,712	382,645
Issued shares of common stock, pursuant to NNN’s Deferred Director Fee Plan	11,658	12,166

Represents the number of shares of the Company's common stock issued to members of the Company's board of directors during the period under the deferred director's fee plan.

No definition available.

Name:	nnn_IssuedSharesOfCommonStockPursuantToDeferredDirectorFeePlanShares
Namespace Prefix:	nnn_
Data Type:	xbrli:sharesItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration