What’s the Average Rate You’re Seeing for Short-Term Bridge Loans?

Question

I’ve seen terms all over the place lately — anywhere from 10–14% interest with points upfront.

For investors who’ve used bridge or hard money loans recently, what’s been your experience in this rate environment?

Trying to understand what’s “normal” before negotiating.

Chris Seveney · Answer

We are at 9% + 1pt for top borrowers.

Kim Torres · Answer

Hi Michael! The rates will vary depending on the borrower's profile. You can find the lowest rates starting at high 8's for experienced investors and then gradually go up for less experienced ones. The higher rates (12%+) will typically be from programs that allow for a higher risk profile, by requiring even less documentation (no fico, no appraisal, no experience). I hope this helps!

Jeff S. · Answer

Lightning Docs is the largest provider of online loan documents nationwide to the business-purpose bridge and DSCR communities. They periodically aggregate and publish their resulting loan statistics.  Here’s a link to the latest article from Nema Daghbandan, CEO of Lightning Docs, summarizing their statistics nationwide.

As you can see, nationwide, bridge rates have been dropping steadily for the last year to an August 2025 average of 10.43%.  Volume was exploding until this past April and has now flattened at best.

Loan rates are local, @Michael Santeusanio, at least down to the state level.  You don’t cite your location.  Nema could provide you with the averages for your state, and in some cases, such as CA, by county and city, if you write to him and ask.  These are only part of the answer.

Not included in any statistics are the competitive advantages offered by some lenders, so I’m not sure what you will do with just the numbers.  For example, LTV, deferred payments, loan terms, fees, and several other factors could be reasons why some lenders can charge what they do.

The most accurate way to determine loan rates in your area is to speak to local lenders.  Don’t limit your question to their interest rate since there is much more to a loan than that.