Principles of Consolidation - Summary of Redwood's Interest in Third-Party Variable Interest Entity's (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities	[1]	$ 344,125	$ 1,099,874
Real estate securities | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		200,801	887,015
Real estate securities | Senior | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		11,131	127,094
Real estate securities | Mezzanine | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		2,014	508,195
Real estate securities | Subordinate | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		173,523	235,510
Real estate securities | Total Mortgage-Backed Securities | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		186,668	870,799
Real estate securities | Excess MSR | Variable Interest Entity, Not Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Real estate securities		$ 14,133	$ 16,216

[1] Our consolidated balance sheets include assets of consolidated variable interest entities (“VIEs”) that can only be used to settle obligations of these VIEs and liabilities of consolidated VIEs for which creditors do not have recourse to Redwood Trust, Inc. or its affiliates. At December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, assets of consolidated VIEs totaled $8,141,069 and $11,931,869, respectively. At December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $7,148,414 and $10,717,072, respectively. See Note 4 for further discussion.