EQUITY AND EARNINGS PER SHARE - Narrative (Details) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands								1 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
		Jan. 01, 2017 shares	Jan. 01, 2016 shares	Jan. 01, 2015 shares	Oct. 17, 2014 shares	Jan. 01, 2014 shares	May 15, 2013 shares	Feb. 21, 2017 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Aug. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jul. 31, 2015 $ / shares shares	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($) employee $ / shares shares	Apr. 30, 2015 USD ($) employee $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2014 $ / shares shares	Aug. 31, 2014 $ / shares shares	May 31, 2014 $ / shares shares	Apr. 30, 2014 USD ($) employee $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) shares	May 06, 2013 shares
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)																	2,000,000,000	2,000,000,000
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares																	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)																	100,000,000.0
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share) | $ / shares																	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)					141,400,000												250,773,117	230,471,202		126,512,823
Reverse stock split					0.5
Common stock outstanding, prior to stock split (in shares)					282,800,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock | $									$ 278,800		$ 442,600	$ 436,100				$ 163,800	$ 279,600	$ 882,166	$ 173,507
Risk-free interest rate									1.45%		2.61%	2.02%				2.87%
Dividend yield									11.80%		7.81%	6.71%				12.584%
Volatility									27.57%		23.73%	24.04%				25.66%
Term (in years)									10 years		10 years	10 years				10 years
Option exercise (in shares)	[1]																1,100,497	6,734,525
Reserved shares of common stock for issuance (in shares)																	15,000,000
Stock option plan term (in years)																	10 years
Yearly increase in number of shares available for options																	10.00%
Number of additional shares authorized (in shares)			8,543,539	1,437,500		0
Threshold percentage for options that may be issued to the Manager																	10.00%
Stock options outstanding (in shares)																	13,196,610
Number of days to determine average closing price (in days)							5 days
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares																	$ 15.72
Dilutive common stock equivalents (in shares)																	364,107	2,167,796	3,092,844
Subsequent Event [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Proceeds from issuance of common stock | $								$ 834,600
Risk-free interest rate								2.38%
Dividend yield								10.82%
Volatility								28.64%
Term (in years)								10 years
Number of additional shares authorized (in shares)		2,000,000
Executive Officer [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Number of employees | employee											1	1				1
Employee of Manager [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Option exercise (in shares)									1,100,497						107,500
Exercise price of options exercised (in dollars per share) | $ / shares									$ 10.59						$ 5.61
Employees of Manager and New Residential Director [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Option exercise (in shares)														498,500
Exercise price of options exercised (in dollars per share) | $ / shares														$ 5.62
Former Employee of Manager [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Option exercise (in shares)										37,500			42,566
Exercise price of options exercised (in dollars per share) | $ / shares										$ 7.19			$ 7.19
Fortress [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)																	2,400,000
Director [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Stock options outstanding (in shares)																	6,000	4,000
Director [Member] | Equity Option [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Stock options outstanding (in shares)																	6,000
Other Affiliates [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Stock options outstanding (in shares)							10,700,000.0										13,196,610	12,380,107
Common Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)									20,000,000.0		27,900,000.0	29,213,020				13,875,000
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares									$ 14.20		$ 15.88	$ 15.25				$ 12.20
Options granted to Manager (in shares)									2,000,000.0		2,800,000.0	5,750,000				1,437,500
Fair value of options granted to Manager | $									$ 2,300		$ 3,700	$ 8,900				$ 1,400
Option exercise (in shares)											6,700,000
Aggregate shares in cashless exercise (in shares)											3,600,000
Issuance of common stock (in shares)									280,111
Common Stock [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)								56,500,000.0
Share price (in dollars per share) | $ / shares								$ 15.00
Options granted to Manager (in shares)								5,700,000.0
Fair value of options granted to Manager | $								$ 8,100
Common Stock [Member] | Executive Officer [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)											9,100	250,000				500,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock | $																$ 6,100
Common Stock [Member] | Executive Officer [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)								18,600
Common Stock [Member] | Employee of Manager [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)															107,500
Common Stock [Member] | Employees of Manager and New Residential Director [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)														276,037
Common Stock [Member] | Former Employee of Manager [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock (in shares)										20,227			42,566
Newcastle [Member]
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range [Line Items]
Spin-off distribution ratio (in shares)																				1

[1] The 1.1 million and 6.7 million options that were exercised in 2016 and 2015 had an intrinsic value of approximately $4.0 million and $59.4 million, respectively, at the date of exercise.