Two Harbors Investment Corp. Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Commercial Real Estate Assets by Property Type (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 1,114,548	$ 926,377	$ 660,953	$ 290,910	$ 45,605	$ 0
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	100.00%		100.00%
Retail Site [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 237,007		$ 185,883
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	21.30%		28.10%
Hotel [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 85,520		$ 80,843
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	7.70%		12.20%
Industrial Property [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 104,929		$ 0
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	9.40%		0.00%
Multifamily [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 208,265		$ 139,011
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	18.70%		21.10%
Office Building [Member]
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items]
Commercial real estate assets	$ 478,827		$ 255,216
Loans and Leases Receivable, Percentage of Total, Commercial	42.90%		38.60%