BUSINESS	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Organization Consolidation And Presentation Of Financial Statements [Abstract]
BUSINESS	NOTE 1 — BUSINESS Capstead Mortgage Corporation operates as a self-managed real estate investment trust for federal income tax purposes (a “REIT”) and is based in Dallas, Texas. Unless the context otherwise indicates, Capstead Mortgage Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, is referred to as “Capstead” or the “Company.” Capstead earns income from investing in a leveraged portfolio of residential mortgage pass-through securities consisting almost exclusively of adjustable-rate mortgage (“ARM”) securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored enterprises, either Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or by an agency of the federal government, Ginnie Mae. Residential mortgage pass-through securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or Ginnie Mae are referred to as “Agency Securities” and are considered to have limited, if any, credit risk.

The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, major products or services, principal markets including location, and the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination, including but not limited to, assets, revenues, or earnings. For an entity that has not commenced principal operations, disclosures about the risks and uncertainties related to the activities in which the entity is currently engaged and an understanding of what those activities are being directed toward.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e5967-108592

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2134479

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