Six dominant lender categories cover most CRE debt: agency multifamily (Fannie/Freddie/HUD), life insurance companies, CMBS conduits, regional and community banks, debt funds, and mezzanine providers. Each category has clear strengths, clear weaknesses, and a different decision-making process.
How to think about the lender types
The right capital source depends on three dimensions: asset class (multifamily, industrial, office, retail, hotel, mixed-use, land), lifecycle stage (acquisition, value-add bridge, stabilized perm, construction, refi at maturity), and structural complexity (single-property vs. multi-property, single-state vs. multi-state, capital-stack work).
No single lender category is best at everything. Agencies dominate stabilized multifamily; life cos dominate the lowest-leverage best-quality industrial/retail/office; CMBS dominates middle-market stabilized non-multifamily; banks dominate construction and relationship-driven deals; debt funds dominate higher-leverage transitional and bridge.
The six categories at a glance
Below this hub: a sub-page for each lender category with deeper detail on what they do well, what they do not, current 2026 pricing and structure benchmarks, and the metro-specific lender options in our 4 primary metros.
Indicative ranges only. Send the deal for a current quote.
How most CRE deals get financed
Most stabilized multifamily refi: agency. Most stabilized industrial perm: life co or CMBS. Most stabilized retail perm with credit tenants: CMBS or life co. Most multifamily acquisition with value-add: bridge from a debt fund, take out to agency at stabilization.
Most middle-market construction: regional bank if 60% to 70% LTC and recourse is acceptable; debt fund if higher leverage or non-recourse required. Most mezz: small balance from a specialty mezz fund or capital arm of a debt fund; larger from an institutional capital partner.
Frequently asked questions
How many lenders should I quote on a single deal?
6 to 12 selected lenders is the typical range for a serious parallel process. Sending to 20+ lenders signals the deal is being shopped indiscriminately and reduces lender attention. Sending to 1 to 2 means leaving 25 to 75 bps of pricing on the table.
Are all CRE lenders open for business in 2026?
Most are; some are not. Per the Federal Reserve's SLOOS surveys, banks have tightened materially on CRE construction and value-add bridge. Agencies, life cos, and CMBS are open and active. Debt funds are open with discipline on attachment points and exit certainty.
Do I need an advisor to run a parallel process?
Not technically. Practically, the work to underwrite, package, and quote 6 to 12 lenders consistently is more than most sponsors have internal bandwidth for, and the relationships matter for getting calls returned. Most institutional sponsors retain advisors on deals where the parallel process produces meaningful value.
Sources
- Quarterly Survey of Commercial/Multifamily Mortgage Bankers Originations · Mortgage Bankers Association · 2026-Q1
- Financial Stability Report · Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 2025-11
- Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices (SLOOS) · Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System · 2026-Q1
- Quarterly Banking Profile · Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation · 2026-Q1