Discontinued Operations (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2010
Crest's income from discontinued operations, real estate acquired for resale [Abstract]
Interest revenue	$ 346	$ 351	$ 694	$ 701
Interest expense	(198)	(135)	(399)	(263)
General and administrative expense	(12)	(87)	(25)	(184)
Property expenses	(4)	(2)	(7)	(6)
Income tax benefit	88	111	179	201
Income from discontinued operations, real estate acquired for resale by Crest	220	238	442	449
Realty Income's income from discontinued operations, real estate held for investment [Abstract]
Gain on sales of investment properties	1,096	1,663	1,224	2,366
Rental revenue	112	684	338	1,564
Other revenue	7	7	28	17
Depreciation and amortization	(58)	(258)	(161)	(556)
Property expenses	(86)	(194)	(195)	(625)
Provisions for impairment	(10)	(53)	(210)	(87)
Income from discontinued operations, real estate held for investment	1,061	1,849	1,024	2,679
Total discontinued operations [Abstract]
Real estate acquired for resale	220	238	442	449
Real estate held for investment	1,061	1,849	1,024	2,679
Income from discontinued operations	$ 1,281	$ 2,087	$ 1,466	$ 3,128
Per common share, basic and diluted (per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.02	$ 0.01	$ 0.03

Amount of interest revenues attributable to the discontinued operation of an entity, during the reporting period

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Amount of general and administrative expenses attributable to the discontinued operations of an entity during the reporting period.

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Amount of other revenues, not previously identified, attributable to the discontinued operation of an entity during the reporting period

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Amount of property expenses attributable to the discontinued operations of an entity during the reporting period.

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Amount of rental revenues attributable to the discontinued operation of an entity, during the reporting period.

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Element represents income (loss) from discontinued operations of real estate acquired for resale by a subsidiary, net of income tax, as a component of income before extraordinary items and accounting changes before amount of possible allocation to noncontrolling interests. Includes (net of tax): income (loss) from operations for phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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Element represents income (loss) from discontinued operations of real estate held for investment, net of income tax, as a separate component of income before extraordinary items and accounting changes and amount allocated to noncontrolling interests. Includes the following (net of tax): income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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Gain (loss) after tax expense or benefit, not previously recognized and resulting from the sale of a business component, which is recognized at the date of sale. A gain (loss) reflects the amount by which the consideration received exceeds (is exceeded by) the net carrying amount (reflecting previous provisions for loss on disposal, if any) of the disposal group.

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Tax effect allocated to a disposal group that is classified as a component of the entity reported as a separate component of income before extraordinary items. Includes the tax effects of the following: income (loss) from operations during the phase-out period, gain (loss) on disposal, provision (or any reversals of earlier provisions) for loss on disposal, and adjustments of a prior period gain (loss) on disposal.

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Amount, if any, of interest expense allocated to the disposal group, including a component of the entity (discontinued operation), during the reporting period.

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The charge against earnings in the period to reduce the carrying amount of real property to fair value.

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The amount of income (loss) derived from discontinued operations during the period, net of related tax effect, per each basic and diluted share of common stock or unit when the per share amount is the same for both basic and diluted shares.

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