Question 1

Which San Antonio property types actually support a bridge loan right now?

Accepted Answer

Retail is the tightest asset class in the metro, and industrial is the one stabilizing fastest. Partners Real Estate put San Antonio retail vacancy at 4.2% in the first quarter of 2026, under 5% since mid-2021, with average asking rent of $19.45 per square foot NNN and trailing-twelve-month sales averaging $211 per square foot at a 7.2% cap rate. Industrial is a different story and worth stating plainly: deliveries were down 85.7% year over year, absorption ran roughly 900,000 square feet year to date, and vacancy sat at 10.3% per CBRE against 11.1% per Cushman and Wakefield as of the second quarter of 2026. That is a market stabilizing, not a market booming. A CRE bridge loan is for the gap between where an asset is and where a permanent lender will take it.

Question 2

Why do I see two different San Antonio office vacancy rates, and which one should I underwrite to?

Accepted Answer

Neither one on its own. As of the second quarter of 2026, CBRE reported San Antonio office vacancy at 17.6% and Cushman and Wakefield at 15.2%. The gap is not a rounding difference. Part of Cushman and Wakefield's lower figure comes from inventory being removed from the base through adaptive reuse rather than from space being leased, so a tightening rate can mean buildings left the count. Cushman and Wakefield also put average asking rent at $27.97 per square foot, up 2.3% year over year, with no office under construction and nothing delivered in 18 months. Pick one house, hold it across your pro forma, and do not blend the two. We underwrite the rent roll, the leasing budget and the comps on your building, not a metro average.

Question 3

How should I underwrite a San Antonio multifamily bridge with vacancy this high?

Accepted Answer

To effective rent and a wider cap rate than the seller is using. Northmarq put the first quarter of 2026 median multifamily sale at $132,600 per unit at an average 6.0% cap rate, out 50 basis points from 5.5% in 2024. On vacancy, name the house: CoStar reported 15.7% for the market as of March 2026, the highest of any major U.S. multifamily market with 72% of properties offering a concession, while Cushman and Wakefield reported 13.8% on a stabilized basis in the second quarter, which excludes assets still in lease-up. Effective rent was $1,161, down 5.5% year over year to a five-year low. The forward offset is real but has not reached rents yet: 2026 deliveries are forecast at 2,600 units, down 63% from 2025 and the slowest since 2011, with permitting at a decade low. That combination is why we write 24 to 36 month terms here instead of 12.

Question 4

Is the data center buildout something a bridge lender will finance land or land plays against?

Accepted Answer

It is the strongest commercial story in the metro, and it carries a specific entitlement risk you have to price. Bexar County has more than 30 data centers built and more than 23 in development as of August 2026, with CyrusOne and Vantage having put over $1 billion into the market since 2020. A reported CloudHQ campus of roughly 600 megawatts at Texas Research Park is the largest of the pipeline items, though that one is less firmly sourced than the county-level count. The catch is location: much of the far-west Bexar activity sits over the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone with council zoning decisions still pending, so a land basis underwritten on an assumed approval is a land basis underwritten on a maybe. Bring us the entitlement status and we will tell you straight what we can lend against it.

Question 5

Does the Toyota expansion change the case for a south side industrial deal?

Accepted Answer

It is the largest new economic event in the metro, and it still does not carry a deal on its own. Toyota announced a $3.6 billion San Antonio expansion on July 6, 2026: 2,000 new jobs, 2.5 million square feet, a second Tacoma line, and a plant that roughly doubles by 2030, on top of $8.3 billion invested since 2003. That is a genuine anchor for a south side industrial or workforce housing thesis. Underwrite it next to the rest of the labor picture, though. Metro nonfarm employment was 1,193,000 in June 2026, up 7,400 jobs or 0.62% year over year, with unemployment at 4.8%, up 80 basis points from a year earlier. Job growth under 1% is a softening market, and a lease-up assumption built on the announcement alone is a lease-up assumption we will push back on.

Question 6

What do taxes do to my carry when I buy and reposition a Bexar County asset?

Accepted Answer

Assume a full reassessment and assume no cap protects a short hold. Inside the City of San Antonio, the combined tax rate for tax year 2025 ran about 2.22% to 2.54% of taxable value depending on the school district, with a non-school stack of 1.285274 per $100. There is a 20% annual circuit-breaker cap on non-homestead property valued at or below $5.32 million for 2026, but it requires a full January through December calendar year of ownership, it is stripped when the property sells, and by statute it expires December 31, 2026. A buy-reposition-sell inside one year gets nothing from it, and a takeout underwritten on a 2027 hold should not assume it survives. Outside the city, watch the overlays: a suburban MUD or water district can add 0.79 to 1.20 per $100 on its own and push a New Braunfels or Boerne parcel past a San Antonio one. Talk to your CPA or property tax counsel about the specific parcel.

Question 7

What can a commercial bridge loan be used for?

Accepted Answer

Bridge capital is for repositioning or stabilizing a commercial property before permanent financing: value-add, lease-up, a partner buyout, or pulling equity out through a cash-out. We lend across property types on terms up to 24 to 36 months, with loans up to $10M.

Question 8

What rates, leverage, and terms should I expect?

Accepted Answer

Our commercial bridge pricing starts around 9%, interest-only, up to roughly 75% loan-to-value, on terms up to 24 to 36 months. Published bridge pricing generally runs 8% to 12% with 1 to 3 points. Final terms depend on the asset, the business plan, and sponsor strength.

Question 9

How fast can a commercial bridge loan close?

Accepted Answer

Commercial deals usually close in 2 to 4 weeks. They take a little longer than residential because of the appraisal, the rent roll and operating-statement review, and any third-party reports. We move as fast as the diligence allows and keep one point of contact on your file.

Question 10

Do I need positive cash flow (DSCR) to qualify?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily at closing. Bridge loans are often underwritten interest-only to the as-stabilized business plan rather than a minimum in-place DSCR, since the property is being repositioned. We do want to see a credible path to stabilization and enough in-place income or reserves to carry the loan.

Question 11

What documents do you need for a commercial bridge request?

Accepted Answer

Typically the purchase contract or current debt, a rent roll and trailing-12-month operating statement, your business plan and renovation budget, and sponsor financials. Larger assets may also need a property condition report and an environmental review. We will give you a clear checklist up front.

Question 12

Is the loan recourse, and is cash-out available?

Accepted Answer

Most bridge loans are recourse with a personal guarantee, while lower-leverage non-recourse can be possible on stronger assets. Cash-out is available when there is equity to support it. We structure recourse and leverage around the specific deal.

CRE Bridge in San Antonio

How it works

Run your CRE Bridge numbers.

CRE Bridge in San Antonio: local questions

CRE Bridge questions, answered.

Guides for CRE Bridge

CRE Bridge vs. other options

Other programs in San Antonio

Funding San Antonio deals fast.