The quoted rate on a commercial bridge loan term sheet is never the real cost of the money. Between origination points, exit fees, extension fees, and the interest itself, two lenders quoting the "same" rate can produce all-in carry costs that differ by a full percentage point or more of the loan amount. For a sponsor comparing term sheets on a $5-15 million deal, that difference is real money — often six figures.
This guide shows where the benchmark indexes stand as of October 5, 2026, how commercial bridge loan pricing works on top of them, and re-prices two worked all-in cost examples at the latest SOFR print, so you can compare lenders on an apples-to-apples basis instead of headline rate alone.
Rate capsule — as of October 5, 2026. A floating bridge coupon is one of these indexes plus a lender-set spread. Each figure is the latest published observation, with its own date; they are observations, not a forecast.
| Benchmark | Rate | Observation date | What it prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark SOFR | Rate 3.88% | Observation date October 2, 2026 | What it prices The floating base most bridge spreads are quoted over |
| Benchmark 30-Day Average SOFR | Rate 3.78389% | Observation date October 5, 2026 | What it prices A smoothed reset index some lenders use instead of the daily print |
| Benchmark 10-Year Treasury | Rate 5.28% | Observation date October 2, 2026 | What it prices The base for the permanent loan that takes out the bridge |
| Benchmark Bank Prime Loan Rate | Rate 7.00% | Observation date October 2, 2026 | What it prices The base for prime-indexed bridge loans |
| Benchmark Federal funds target range | Rate 3-3/4 to 4 percent | Observation date FOMC statement, September 16, 2026 | What it prices The policy rate SOFR trades against |
SOFR, the 30-day average, the 10-year Treasury (series DGS10) and prime are as published on FRED by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. For every benchmark in one place, see current commercial mortgage rates.
To see real quotes on your own deal, submit it once — Zero upfront: it costs nothing to submit a deal and review offers.
How are commercial bridge loan rates set?
Commercial bridge loan rates are usually quoted as a lender-set spread over a floating index — most often SOFR or its 30-day average, occasionally prime — so the all-in coupon equals today's index plus a margin driven by leverage, asset type, business-plan risk, and sponsor track record. No public index tracks bridge coupons, so the spread is always deal-specific.
The index half is verifiable: SOFR was 3.88% on October 2, 2026, and the 30-Day Average SOFR, which some lenders reset floating loans against instead of the daily print, was 3.78389% on October 5, 2026. The spread half is not. As an illustration only, an assumed 5.50% lender spread over SOFR gives a 9.38% coupon; your term sheet sets the real number, and some also set an index floor. Spreads have been the quieter half: Trepp's August 2026 rates and spreads report, published September 9, 2026, says balance-sheet lending spreads in its Trepp-i survey moved by 3 basis points or less over the month across property types. Read that as a benchmark, not a bridge coupon: transitional bridge debt prices wider because the collateral hasn't stabilized, and each debt fund prices its own risk box rather than following a rate sheet.
The spread you're quoted reflects risk, not just market conditions: a stabilized industrial asset at 65% LTV prices tighter than a half-vacant office building at 75% LTC with a heavy capex plan. Two sponsors closing bridge loans in the same month can see meaningfully different rates purely because of asset quality and leverage.
How much have commercial bridge loan rates moved since the Fed's September 2026 hike?
The index under floating commercial bridge loan rates has risen by about the size of the Fed's quarter-point hike, from 3.62% SOFR on September 16, 2026 to 3.88% on October 2, while the lender's spread is still set deal by deal. On an illustrative $10M loan, those 26 basis points add $65,000 of interest over a 30-month hold.
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds target range by a quarter point to 3-3/4 to 4 percent on September 16, 2026. Here is how each benchmark moved:
- SOFR: 3.62% on September 16, 3.85% on September 17, a high of 3.90% on September 25, 28 and 30, and 3.88% on October 2, 2026.
- Bank prime rate: 6.75% through September 16, then 7.00% from September 17 through October 2, 2026.
- 30-Day Average SOFR: 3.64553% on August 28 and 3.78389% on October 5, 2026. It lags because its window still includes pre-hike days, and it reflects the hike in full only once that window has rolled past September 16.
- 10-year Treasury: 4.64% on August 25 and 5.28% on October 2, 2026 (FRED DGS10), so the permanent loan that repays a bridge is pricing off a higher base too.
These are dated observations, not a forecast.
What fees come on top of the interest rate?
Beyond the quoted rate, commercial bridge loans commonly carry origination points at closing, an exit fee at payoff, and extension fees if the loan runs past the initial term — all of which need to be added to interest to get the real carry cost. No regulator or index sets these; each lender sets its own stack.
The ranges below are middle-market convention, not a published schedule, and they are the assumptions the worked examples use. The only authoritative source for a given deal's fees is its own term sheet, read line by line rather than compared on the verbally quoted rate. For every fee line, from points to title, appraisal, legal and lender diligence charges, see our guide to bridge loan fees.
- Origination/points: 1-3 points, charged at closing, compensates the lender for underwriting and often reflects leverage — higher LTV/LTC deals tend to carry higher points.
- Exit fee: typically 0.25-1% of the loan balance, due at payoff, sometimes waived or reduced if the sponsor refinances with the same lender's permanent product.
- Extension fee: 0.25-0.5% per extension period (typically 6-12 months), plus often a tightened DSCR or occupancy test to qualify for the extension at all.
- Third-party costs: appraisal, environmental, and legal fees that are smaller in dollar terms but still part of true closing cost.
What is the true all-in cost of a commercial bridge loan including exit and extension fees?
The true all-in cost of a commercial bridge loan is total interest over the full hold plus origination points, the exit fee, any extension fees, third-party closing costs and any broker fee (YieldStack's is 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount, paid only at closing). On an illustrative $10M loan at 9.38% (SOFR of 3.88% plus an assumed 5.50% spread) held 30 months with one extension, lender-side cost reaches about 26.6% of proceeds, before third-party costs and any broker fee.
Express it in dollars or as a percentage of loan proceeds: that is the number that lets you compare lenders, because rate-only comparisons favor lenders who load fees into points or exit fees. Both examples below are illustrative, not quotes. The index is SOFR of 3.88% on October 2, 2026; every spread, point, and fee is an assumption; and holding the index flat for the whole term is a simplification, not a projection. A loan that resets on the 30-Day Average SOFR starts a little lower, at 3.78389% on October 5, 2026, because that average still includes pre-hike days.
Worked example — smaller deal ($1.5M loan): A sponsor borrows $1.5M at 9.88% (3.88% SOFR + an assumed 6.00% spread, since smaller loans tend to price wider) for 18 months, pays an assumed 2 points at closing, and pays an assumed 1% exit fee at payoff with no extension needed.
| Cost Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Component Interest (18 months) | Calculation $1.5M × 9.88% × 1.5 years | Amount $222,300 |
| Cost Component Origination points | Calculation $1.5M × 2% | Amount $30,000 |
| Cost Component Exit fee | Calculation $1.5M × 1% | Amount $15,000 |
| Cost Component Total financing cost | Calculation | Amount $267,300 |
| Cost Component As % of loan amount | Calculation $267,300 / $1.5M | Amount 17.82% |
Scaled example — larger CRE deal ($10M loan): Now scale that structure to a $10M value-add multifamily bridge loan at 9.38% (3.88% SOFR + an assumed, slightly tighter 5.50% spread, since larger, more institutional deals often price a bit better), an assumed 2 points, a 24-month term with one 6-month extension used at an assumed 0.375% fee, and an assumed 0.75% exit fee.
| Cost Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cost Component Interest (24 months) | Calculation $10M × 9.38% × 2.0 years | Amount $1,876,000 |
| Cost Component Origination points | Calculation $10M × 2% | Amount $200,000 |
| Cost Component Extension fee (1 period) | Calculation $10M × 0.375% | Amount $37,500 |
| Cost Component Extension-period interest (6 mo) | Calculation $10M × 9.38% × 0.5 years | Amount $469,000 |
| Cost Component Exit fee | Calculation $10M × 0.75% | Amount $75,000 |
| Cost Component Total financing cost | Calculation | Amount $2,657,500 |
| Cost Component As % of loan amount | Calculation $2,657,500 / $10M | Amount ~26.6% |
Both tables cover the financing cost — interest plus lender fees. Third-party closing costs (appraisal, environmental, and legal work, per the fee list above) are deal-specific and sit on top of these figures, as does any broker fee, to reach the true all-in number, so budget for them separately rather than assuming the subtotal is fully loaded.
Notice how much the extension period adds — not just the fee, but six more months of interest at the full loan balance. A sponsor whose lease-up runs behind schedule doesn't just pay a small penalty; they pay a full extra half-year of carrying cost on the entire loan — $506,500 in the $10M example ($37,500 fee + $469,000 interest).
The index matters too, because the coupon floats. On the $10M example, every 0.25 percentage point the index sits higher or lower across the 30-month hold changes interest by $62,500 ($10M × 0.25% × 2.5 years) — the size of the Fed's September 16, 2026 move. The 26-basis-point rise in SOFR since then, from 3.62% on September 16 to 3.88% on October 2, 2026, is $65,000 over the same hold ($10M × 0.26% × 2.5 years). That is arithmetic, not a forecast; also ask whether the lender requires a rate cap, which adds cost.
Why does comparing bridge lenders on rate alone mislead sponsors?
Comparing bridge lenders on quoted rate alone misleads sponsors because points, exit fees, and extension terms can shift the true all-in cost by several percentage points of loan proceeds, so a lower headline rate with heavier fees can cost more than a higher rate with a cleaner structure. Build the full carry-cost table for every term sheet.
Use your actual expected hold period, not just the initial term. This is where working with a brokerage that surfaces multiple bridge lender quotes side by side — matching deal parameters to lender appetite the way YieldStack does — pays off: it turns a scattered set of verbal quotes and partial term sheets into a structured, comparable set of all-in costs instead of a guessing game. YieldStack is a commercial mortgage brokerage: lenders make every credit decision, and no loan, rate, or closing is guaranteed.
- Upfront cost: Zero upfront — it costs nothing to submit a deal and review offers.
- Broker fee: 0.50–1.00% of the loan amount, paid only at closing.
- Speed: median offer in under an hour, from an institutional lender.
- Matching: 5–8 matched lenders per deal, drawn from 20,000+ loan programs.
For a lender-by-lender view of who leads the 2026 bridge market, see our comparison of the best bridge loan lenders for CRE, and for program structures see commercial bridge loans. When you're ready to price your own deal, submit it once and have fitting lenders quote it in parallel.
How should carry cost change your loan-term decision?
Carry cost should push sponsors toward matching loan term length to a realistic, slightly padded business-plan timeline, because extension fees and additional interest periods are the single largest lever in the true cost calculation — more impactful than a modest difference in quoted rate. Pad the term, not the rate: a longer initial term usually costs less than an extension.
If your renovation and lease-up plan realistically needs 20 months, don't take an 18-month bridge loan to save a few basis points on rate; the extension fee and extra interest will erase that savings and then some.
Before signing, run the exit-side numbers too: model the anticipated permanent takeout loan on an amortization schedule and confirm the projected debt yield and DSCR clear the refinance lender's threshold. Permanent takeout loans price off Treasuries, and the 10-year was 5.28% on October 2, 2026, up from 4.64% on August 25; test the refinance at that base and at a stressed, higher one rather than assuming any particular path. For the qualification side of this — what a lender needs to see to price you at the tighter end of the range — see our guide to commercial bridge loan requirements. And if you're still deciding whether a bridge loan is the right structure at all, start with how commercial bridge loans work.
What is the bottom line on commercial bridge loan costs in 2026?
Commercial bridge loan cost in 2026 is a floating index — SOFR was 3.88% on October 2, 2026 — plus a lender-set spread, points, an exit fee, and any extension fees, and in the illustrative $10M model the lender-side total reaches about 26.6% of proceeds over 30 months. Model the full number before comparing lenders.
Every lender prices its own risk box, so the quoted rate is only part of the true cost; extension fees and extra interest periods are the biggest swing. Pad your loan term rather than betting on a fee-free timeline.