The quick read: No, not at the same balance. Trepp reported on October 21, 2026 that $3.04 billion across 130 performing Texas floating-rate agency multifamily loans, 25.3% of the performing floating-rate balance, shows a net cash flow DSCR below 1.0x, at a balance-weighted 0.77x. Freddie Mac's current term sheets size a new floating-rate or fixed-rate loan at a 1.25x minimum amortizing debt coverage ratio. At 0.77x that test cuts the new loan to about 51% to 62% of the old balance on our illustrative arithmetic, so the difference has to come from a paydown, a sale or bridge capital. Timing favors moving early: on a five-year floater written under Freddie Mac's current floating-rate term sheet, the prepayment options charge 1% in year five and nothing in the final 90 days. Check your own note, which sets the actual premium.
How many Texas floating-rate agency apartment loans run below 1.0x DSCR?
Trepp counted 130 performing Texas floating-rate agency multifamily loans, carrying $3.04 billion or 25.3% of the performing floating-rate balance, with a net cash flow DSCR below 1.0x in its October 21, 2026 report. Their balance-weighted coverage is 0.77x, close to the 0.72x on the delinquent loans that report it.
These loans are still paying. Trepp's reading is that reported property cash flow does not cover the debt service in the DSCR calculation even though the loans remain performing, which makes them the population to watch rather than the one already in trouble. Texas carries the second-largest securitized multifamily debt balance of any state, at $150.10 billion. Floating-rate loans make up 21.3% of the Texas agency multifamily balance but 55.8% of its $1.35 billion delinquent balance.
The delinquent side looks the same. Of the 28 delinquent Texas floating-rate agency loans, 15 report a net cash flow DSCR and all 15 are below 1.0x, at a balance-weighted 0.72x. The other 13, holding 47.5% of the delinquent balance, report no coverage figure at all.
Vintage sorts the stress. Trepp puts the delinquency rate on Texas floating-rate agency loans securitized in 2021 and 2022 at 11.33%, about 8.4 times the 1.35% on loans from other years, and those two vintages hold 87.5% of the delinquent floating-rate balance.
Table: Texas floating-rate agency multifamily loans by securitization year (Trepp, October 21, 2026)
| Measure | Securitized 2021 to 2022 | All other years | All Texas floating-rate agency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Measure Loans | Securitized 2021 to 2022 277 | All other years 359 | All Texas floating-rate agency 636 |
| Measure Balance | Securitized 2021 to 2022 $5.80 billion | All other years $6.95 billion | All Texas floating-rate agency $12.75 billion |
| Measure Delinquent loans | Securitized 2021 to 2022 21 | All other years 7 | All Texas floating-rate agency 28 |
| Measure Delinquent balance | Securitized 2021 to 2022 $657.1 million | All other years $94.1 million | All Texas floating-rate agency $751.2 million |
| Measure Delinquency rate | Securitized 2021 to 2022 11.33% | All other years 1.35% | All Texas floating-rate agency 5.89% |
| Measure Share of floating-rate balance | Securitized 2021 to 2022 45.5% | All other years 54.5% | All Texas floating-rate agency 100% |
| Measure Share of delinquent floating-rate balance | Securitized 2021 to 2022 87.5% | All other years 12.5% | All Texas floating-rate agency 100% |
Weighted-average coupon, Texas floating-rate agency loans (Trepp): 5.74%
Weighted-average coupon, Texas fixed-rate agency loans (Trepp): 4.66%
Weighted-average coupon, delinquent floating-rate loans (Trepp): 5.99%
Delinquency rate, rest of the Texas agency book (Trepp): 1.26%
Delinquency rate, all Texas multifamily in agency CMBS, conduit, SASB, large loan and CRE CLO deals (Trepp): 3.08%
In our reading, the rate path explains the vintage split. FRED's SOFR series shows overnight SOFR at 0.05% on October 28, 2021, 3.05% on October 28, 2022 and 3.94% on October 28, 2026. On October 28, 2026 the FOMC held the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-3/4 to 4 percent. A floating coupon resets with its index, so a property underwritten when SOFR sat near zero now carries the same spread over an index near 4%, with only its interest rate cap limiting how much of that reaches the borrower.
The two largest delinquent Texas agency loans show the arithmetic. A 720-unit Grand Prairie property carrying $92.2 million produced 2025 net cash flow of $4.10 million, a 4.4% debt yield against a 5.61% coupon. A 793-unit Houston property built in 1972, carrying $83.8 million, ran an annualized 4.4% debt yield against a 6.40% coupon, with 83% occupancy in July 2026 and a most recent DSCR of 0.57x. Both moved to special servicing in April 2026 for imminent monetary default. When net cash flow divided by the loan balance sits below the coupon, coverage is under 1.0x even on interest-only payments.
What DCR does a new agency apartment loan need?
Freddie Mac's floating-rate and fixed-rate term sheets, both dated 4/26, set a 1.25x minimum amortizing debt coverage ratio on every term, with maximum loan-to-value of 75% on 5- to under-7-year loans and 80% on 7-year and longer loans, so a property at 0.77x fails the coverage test before value is considered.
Interest-only does not get around it. Both term sheets say the DCR for partial-term and full-term interest-only periods is calculated on an amortizing payment, and a full-term interest-only loan carries a lower loan-to-value ceiling: 65% on terms up to seven years and 70% on longer terms. Both sheets also say no Refinance Test is necessary when the loan has an amortizing DCR of 1.40x or greater and an LTV of 60% or less, so a thinner refinance goes through that additional test. A footnote allows adjustments by property, product or market, and the sizing a lender applies to your deal comes from its own underwriting.
The floating-rate product runs 5-, 7- and 10-year terms with a $10 million minimum, a 30-year maximum amortization and 30-day Average SOFR as its pricing index. FRED shows 30-day Average SOFR at about 3.90% on October 28, 2026. The fixed-rate product runs 5- to 10-year terms with the same $10 million minimum. Program overviews for this lane sit on our agency loan page.
Minimum amortizing DCR, floating-rate and fixed-rate, every term (Freddie Mac, 4/26): 1.25x
Maximum LTV, 5- to under-7-year term, amortizing or partial interest-only (Freddie Mac): 75%
Maximum LTV, 7-year and longer term, amortizing or partial interest-only (Freddie Mac): 80%
Maximum LTV, full-term interest-only (Freddie Mac): 65% to 70%
No Refinance Test threshold (Freddie Mac): 1.40x amortizing DCR and 60% LTV
30-day Average SOFR, October 28, 2026 (FRED): about 3.90%
How much smaller is the new loan at 0.77x DSCR?
On our illustrative arithmetic, a Texas floater at 0.77x refinances into a new agency loan of about 51% to 62% of its old balance, because the 1.25x amortizing test divides the same net cash flow by a bigger payment and a higher required coverage. The low end applies when today's 0.77x is measured on interest-only payments.
Illustrative example (our arithmetic, not a quote or a lender offer): a $20 million Texas floater pays interest only at 5.74%, Trepp's weighted-average floating coupon, and reports a 0.77x DSCR. The rate on the new loan is held at the same 5.74% to isolate the coverage test, with 30-year amortization. A higher new rate shrinks the sized loan further and a lower one shrinks it less.
Table: Illustrative $20 million Texas floater at 0.77x refinanced into new agency terms (our arithmetic)
| Line | Current floater, interest only | Same balance, new agency terms | New loan sized at 1.25x |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line Loan amount | Current floater, interest only $20,000,000 | Same balance, new agency terms $20,000,000 | New loan sized at 1.25x about $10,110,000 |
| Line Rate | Current floater, interest only 5.74% | Same balance, new agency terms 5.74% | New loan sized at 1.25x 5.74% |
| Line Payment basis | Current floater, interest only Interest only | Same balance, new agency terms 30-year amortizing | New loan sized at 1.25x 30-year amortizing |
| Line Annual debt service | Current floater, interest only $1,148,000 | Same balance, new agency terms $1,399,051 | New loan sized at 1.25x $707,168 |
| Line Net cash flow | Current floater, interest only $883,960 | Same balance, new agency terms $883,960 | New loan sized at 1.25x $883,960 |
| Line DSCR | Current floater, interest only 0.77x | Same balance, new agency terms 0.63x | New loan sized at 1.25x 1.25x |
| Line Gap to the old balance | Current floater, interest only none | Same balance, new agency terms none | New loan sized at 1.25x about $9,890,000 |
The property's net cash flow of $883,960 is a 4.42% debt yield on $20 million, in line with the 4.4% Trepp reports on the two largest delinquent Texas loans. Keeping the full $20 million at 1.25x on an amortizing payment would take about $1,748,800 of net cash flow, roughly 98% more than the property produces today.
If your 0.77x is already measured on an amortizing payment at the same rate, the ceiling is 0.77 divided by 1.25, or 61.6% of the balance: about $12.32 million on $20 million, leaving a $7.68 million gap before any principal you have already repaid. The loan-to-value test is a separate ceiling, and the lower of the two sets the loan. For the same cash-gap math across apartment loans of those vintages generally, see how much cash you need to refinance an apartment loan from 2021 or 2022.
Should you refinance a Texas agency floater before a 2027 maturity?
If a five-year floater matures in the next 6 to 12 months, prepaying it early is cheap on Freddie Mac's current floating-rate schedule, where all three options open to a five-year loan charge 1% in year five and no option charges a premium in the final 90 days. Your own note sets the actual premium.
The schedule on the current term sheet runs this way. Option 1 is locked out in year one and charges 1% from year two. Option 2 steps from 3% to 2% to 1% by year three. Option 3 steps from 5% down to 1% by year five. Option 4, from 7% down to 1%, is only for 10-year capped floating-rate loans. On the illustrative $20 million loan, 1% is $200,000, and inside the final 90 days it is nothing.
A five-year floater written in 2022 reaches its term in 2027, so an investor holding one is inside the window where, if the note follows a schedule like the current term sheet, the exit cost is at or near its floor. The larger cost of waiting is the loss of options. A maturity date with no take-out in hand leaves a borrower negotiating an extension with the servicer instead of choosing among lenders.
The take-out choice deserves as much thought as the exit. Freddie Mac's fixed-rate term sheet carries yield maintenance until securitization, then a two-year lockout and defeasance after that, with no premium only in the final 90 days. A fixed-rate agency loan sized to today's cash flow puts that smaller balance behind a costlier exit, although both term sheets list supplemental loans, subject to the loan agreement's requirements, as a later way to add proceeds. A new floater or a bridge loan keeps a cheaper exit if net cash flow later supports a larger loan.
- Pull your note's prepayment option and the date the final 90 days begin.
- Check the interest rate cap's expiration date against the maturity date.
- Size the new loan at 1.25x on an amortizing payment using trailing net cash flow and today's index.
- Decide what fills the gap before any lender sees the request.
What fills the gap between the old balance and a new agency loan?
Three sources close a below-1.0x refinance gap: sponsor cash that pays the balance down to the agency-sized loan, a sale or recapitalization that brings in new equity, or bridge capital sized on the property's current value that buys time to rebuild net cash flow before an agency take-out.
A paydown is the cleanest and the most expensive. On the illustrative loan it takes about $9.89 million if the 0.77x is measured on interest-only payments, or $7.68 million if it is measured on an amortizing payment, plus closing costs on the new loan. The investor gets a fully sized agency loan in return.
A sale or recapitalization trades ownership for liquidity. A buyer, or a new equity partner, prices the property on the same net cash flow the agency lender sees, so the sale price has to clear the payoff, any prepayment premium and the costs of sale. Preferred equity behind a new first mortgage is a version of the same trade, subject to that first mortgage's rules on subordinate capital.
Bridge capital buys time. A bridge loan is underwritten on the business plan as well as current coverage, carries a shorter term and a higher rate, and is priced to be refinanced. It fits a property whose net cash flow is depressed by concessions, turnover or deferred work that the sponsor can fix within the bridge term. The full set of multifamily financing options covers both the bridge and the permanent leg.
Cash to close the gap, interest-only basis, illustrative $20 million loan (our arithmetic): about $9.89 million
Cash to close the gap, amortizing basis (our arithmetic): about $7.68 million
Net cash flow needed to keep the full $20 million at 1.25x (our arithmetic): about $1.75 million
How do you get a below-1.0x Texas apartment refinance placed?
Start with a commercial mortgage brokerage that shops the agency take-out, a bridge loan and bank options on the same package at once, because a below-1.0x refinance needs two capital decisions, the new first mortgage and whatever fills the gap, made against each other rather than one after the other.
YieldStack is our pick for that job, for three reasons. YieldStack is an AI-native commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate investors.
- Breadth with people on it: software matches the deal against 20,000+ loan programs and compares the options; human brokers structure the deal, negotiate on the borrower's side and carry it toward closing.
- Speed against a maturity date: median first offer in under an hour, from an institutional lender.
- Clear cost: it costs Zero upfront to submit a deal and review offers; YieldStack's broker fee is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount and is paid only at closing.
Every credit decision is made by the lender; YieldStack arranges the introductions and negotiates on the borrower's side, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed. The other routes are a direct quote from your current agency lender or a balance-sheet loan from a Texas bank; each prices its own program, so you still compare them against the gap.
For a Texas floater below 1.0x, the package that gets clean quotes carries what the coverage test turns on:
- Trailing 12-month operating statement and a current rent roll, with occupancy and concessions
- The note: maturity date, prepayment option, interest rate cap terms and cap expiration
- The servicer's latest reported DSCR and a payoff statement
- Capital spent and planned, with unit turns and down units
- Cash you can commit to a paydown, and whether you would sell or bring in a partner
- The take-out you prefer: a new floater, a fixed-rate agency loan or a bridge first
When the package is ready, send the Texas refinance for review.
The bottom line
No, a Texas floating-rate agency apartment loan at 0.77x cannot refinance at the same balance into a new loan on Freddie Mac's published terms, which size at 1.25x on an amortizing payment. Size the new loan first, decide what fills the gap, and check your note's prepayment premium, low near maturity on Freddie Mac's current floating-rate term sheet, so you act before maturity rather than at it.