Principles of Consolidation - Assets and Liabilities of Consolidated Variable Interest Entities Accounted for as Collateralized Financing Entities (Details) $ in Thousands		Mar. 31, 2023 USD ($) Investment	Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) Investment
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Home equity investments		$ 416,783	$ 403,462
Other investments	[1]	381,690	390,938
Cash and cash equivalents	[1]	404,449	258,894
Restricted cash		86,000
Accrued interest receivable		61,397	60,893
Other assets	[1]	232,221	211,240
Total Assets	[1]	13,121,286	13,030,899
Short-term debt	[1]	1,616,452	2,029,679
Accrued interest payable		51,321	46,612
Accrued expenses and other liabilities	[1]	176,271	180,203
Asset-backed securities issued	[1]	8,447,119	7,986,752
Total liabilities	[1]	11,983,606	11,946,914
CAFL
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of securities owned		295,000	304,000
Freddie Mac SLST
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of securities owned		323,000	323,000
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Total Assets		9,836,956	9,257,291
Total liabilities		8,729,585	8,270,276
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Home equity investments		129,317	132,627
Other investments		292,636	301,213
Cash and cash equivalents		20,087	13,475
Restricted cash		56,275	29,862
Accrued interest receivable		39,946	36,392
Other assets		29,559	25,397
Total Assets		9,836,956	9,257,291
Short-term debt		197,883	206,510
Accrued interest payable		27,555	25,300
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		57,028	51,714
Asset-backed securities issued		8,447,119	7,986,752
Total liabilities		8,729,585	8,270,276
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 1,099,640	$ 979,267
Number of VIEs | Investment		65	64
Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 5,465,883	$ 4,832,407
Business purpose loans, held-for-investment
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans	[1]	4,993,264	4,968,513
Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		3,376,654	3,461,367
Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		426,599	424,551
Legacy Sequoia | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	0
Restricted cash		61	69
Accrued interest receivable		324	284
Other assets		18	637
Total Assets		170,403	185,922
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		316	282
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		(106)	0
Asset-backed securities issued		168,832	184,191
Total liabilities		169,042	184,473
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 1,186	$ 1,285
Number of VIEs | Investment		20	20
Legacy Sequoia | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 170,000	$ 184,932
Legacy Sequoia | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Legacy Sequoia | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Sequoia | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	0
Restricted cash		70	73
Accrued interest receivable		15,096	11,227
Other assets		0	0
Total Assets		3,846,704	3,201,717
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		11,259	8,880
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		78	81
Asset-backed securities issued		3,570,597	2,971,109
Total liabilities		3,581,934	2,980,070
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 260,933	$ 219,299
Number of VIEs | Investment		19	17
Sequoia | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 3,831,538	$ 3,190,417
Sequoia | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Sequoia | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
CAFL | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	710
Restricted cash		51,428	26,296
Accrued interest receivable		18,009	18,102
Other assets		19,199	14,265
Total Assets		3,465,290	3,520,740
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		10,816	10,918
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		4,222	4,559
Asset-backed securities issued		3,072,176	3,115,807
Total liabilities		3,087,214	3,131,284
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 376,042	$ 385,927
Number of VIEs | Investment		19	19
CAFL | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 0	$ 0
CAFL | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		3,376,654	3,461,367
CAFL | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Freddie Mac SLST | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	0
Restricted cash		0	0
Accrued interest receivable		5,069	5,144
Other assets		2,642	2,898
Total Assets		1,472,056	1,465,100
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		3,510	3,561
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		0	0
Asset-backed securities issued		1,143,522	1,222,150
Total liabilities		1,147,032	1,225,711
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 323,465	$ 237,807
Number of VIEs | Investment		2	3
Freddie Mac SLST | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 1,464,345	$ 1,457,058
Freddie Mac SLST | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Freddie Mac SLST | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Freddie Mac K-Series | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	0
Restricted cash		0	0
Accrued interest receivable		1,288	1,293
Other assets		0	0
Total Assets		427,887	425,844
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		1,162	1,167
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		0	0
Asset-backed securities issued		394,469	392,785
Total liabilities		395,631	393,952
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 32,130	$ 31,767
Number of VIEs | Investment		1	1
Freddie Mac K-Series | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 0	$ 0
Freddie Mac K-Series | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Freddie Mac K-Series | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		426,599	424,551
Servicing Investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Other investments		292,636	301,213
Cash and cash equivalents		20,087	12,765
Restricted cash		0	0
Accrued interest receivable		160	342
Other assets		7,650	7,547
Total Assets		320,533	321,867
Short-term debt		197,883	206,510
Accrued interest payable		492	492
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		29,737	24,745
Asset-backed securities issued		0	0
Total liabilities		228,112	231,747
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 92,421	$ 90,120
Number of VIEs | Investment		3	3
Servicing Investment | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 0	$ 0
Servicing Investment | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
Servicing Investment | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
HEI | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Home equity investments		129,317	132,627
Other investments		0	0
Cash and cash equivalents		0	0
Restricted cash		4,716	3,424
Accrued interest receivable		0	0
Other assets		50	50
Total Assets		134,083	136,101
Short-term debt		0	0
Accrued interest payable		0	0
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		23,097	22,329
Asset-backed securities issued		97,523	100,710
Total liabilities		120,620	123,039
Value of our investments in VIEs		$ 13,463	$ 13,062
Number of VIEs | Investment		1	1
Fair value of securities owned		$ 13,000
HEI | Residential loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	$ 0
HEI | Business purpose loans, held-for-investment | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		0	0
HEI | Consolidated Agency multifamily loans | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Collateralized Financing Entities
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Fair value of loans		$ 0	$ 0

[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 March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, assets of consolidated VIEs totaled $9,836,956 and $9,257,291, respectively. At March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, liabilities of consolidated VIEs totaled $8,729,585 and $8,270,276, respectively. See Note 4 for further discussion.